Grace Under Fire
by Jessica B
Summary: SEQUEL to "Possession of Grace" - A series of mine collapses may have been caused by more than faulty labor. Can Sam, Dean and Grace figure it out before more people are killed? (Dean/OFC). A/N: please review... Good or bad. I appreciate any feedback.
1. Chapter 1

Grace sat at Bobby's desk doing research. Six months had passed since the hellhound attack that almost took her life. True to her word, she stopped going out on hunts. Dean made sure she kept that promise by working cases nearby. Now that Sam and Bobby knew about their relationship, Dean could come home to Grace after a hunt and they could be together openly. No more hiding. It made it easier on Grace to have him as close as possible, so she didn't feel the urge to tag along... which kept her out of harms way... which was all Dean wanted.

Their current case was different. It started only a few hours away. They discovered a vampire nest in its beginning stages. Low key, only a few vamps in the group. They decided to take them out to stop the nest from growing since new members would most likely be fresh turns. By the time they got to the nest, it was empty. The guys could tell the vamps left in a hurry, and they followed. The trail led them three days away from Bobby's and they had just discovered the new location of the nest.

Grace's cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and smiled.

"Hello?"

"Hey, babe," Dean said.

"Where are you?"

"We're at the motel. We got the location and we're headin' out. If all goes well we should be done in a few hours."

"Be careful."

"We will. Hey... What color underwear do you have on?"

Grace laughed when she heard Sam in the background, "Dude! I do not want to hear that! We've talked about this already."

"Dean, why do you torture your brother?"

"He's an easy target. I'll call you when we're done."

"Be safe... Love you."

"Love you."

Dean called Grace almost eight hours later. "I've got good news and bad news," he said.

Grace closed her eyes. "Bad news first."

"Sam broke his leg. We're at the hospital now."

"How bad?"

"Doc said it's a clean break, but he'll need a cast for a few weeks."

"What happened?"

"There was a vamp we didn't see... turns out it was the leader. He was pretty strong. Threw Sam across the room, and he landed wrong."

Grace made a face. "What's the good news?"

"The good news is that the nest has been cleaned out... and I'll be on my way home as soon as Sam is released."

Grace couldn't help but smile. "Does Sam's cast mean you'll be home for those few weeks?"

"Maybe," Dean said with a grin. "You miss me?"

"No, not really," she said playfully.

"Liar."

"They're red, by the way."

"What's red?"

"My underwear," she said, smiling.

She heard Dean moan before she heard Bobby from the other room. "You wanna leave that talk in the bedroom?"

"Sorry, Bobby!"

"Sometimes I miss the days you two were a secret."

Grace laughed and Dean sighed at the thought of her in those red underwear. "I'll call you when we're almost home. It may take a little longer since Sam can't help with the driving."

"I'll be waiting."

When Sam and Dean finally made it back to Bobby's, Dean was exhausted. He threw his duffel on the couch and called out for Grace.

Bobby answered him from the kitchen. "She's in the shower."

Dean grinned and, with the energy he had left, he ran up the stairs. He quietly opened the bathroom door, sneaking inside and closing the door behind him. He removed his clothes and climbed in behind Grace. When he slipped his hand around her waist she gasped, swinging around. He just barely got out of the way as her fist sailed past his head.

"Whoa!"

"Dean?!"

He smiled at her. "That's my girl."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "You were supposed to call."

"Crap," he said, realizing he forgot. "Sorry... It was a long trip."

"Tired?"

"Yeah," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Well, I'm not... and I missed you a lot, so I'd better get out of here before its too late."

She finished rinsing her hair, kissed Dean, then got out, wrapping herself in a towel. Once she was dressed she went downstairs to talk to Sam. He was sitting on the couch with his broken leg propped up.

She grabbed the chair from in front of Bobby's desk and pulled it closer to the couch. Dean wasn't much for talking about the cases he just worked, but Grace was still learning a lot and she liked to get the details. Sam usually had no problem filling her in.

"So," Grace said, "how bad was it?"

"Not too bad. We've been in way worse vamp situations."

She raised her eyebrows at him and pointed to his broken leg. He let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, I know. That's what happens when you get caught off guard."

Dean came down the stairs and grabbed a beer from the fridge. He turned and asked, "Anybody else want one?"

Sam shook his head. Bobby, sitting at his desk, motioned that he wanted one.

Dean handed Bobby his beer, then walked over to Grace. He took her hand and pulled her out of the chair, then sat down in her place.

"Hey..."

He pulled her into his lap. "Cast-boy over there is taking up the whole sofa."

She rolled her eyes and put her arm around his shoulders. "So, how's the leg feel?" she asked Sam.

"Not bad."

"I don't doubt it with the pain meds they gave you," Dean said.

Sam started recapping what happened at the nest for Grace. Dean finished off his beer and interrupted, "I'm gonna get some sleep." Grace stood so he could get up. He grabbed her hand before she sat back down. "You comin'?"

"In a little while. I wanna finish talking to Sam." He gave her a quick kiss then headed upstairs. Grace sat back down, and Sam finished telling her about the nest. A few hours later, she was ready for bed. She climbed in next to Dean, who was on his side, so that her back was against him. She lifted his arm and pulled it over her, and smiled when she felt him pull her closer.


	2. Chapter 2

Grace woke up the next morning staring at the ceiling. The sun wasn't quite up yet. Dean's arm was still draped over her. She carefully slipped from beneath his arm and was almost out of the bed when Dean grabbed her wrist, his eyes still closed.

"Where you goin'?"

"I thought I'd get an early start."

Dean opened his eyes and sat up a little. "Early start on what?"

"I've been helping Bobby with research for a few hunters. He's been hit kinda hard lately."

"It's my first day back after over a week apart and you wanna get up early to work?"

"Did you have other plans?"

He pulled her back down into his arms, his hand rubbing her back. "I thought we'd sleep in... or not sleep." He smiled at her and she couldn't help but laugh. She ran a hand through his hair.

"You and your bed head."

"You love it."

"I do."

He kissed her and as she sank into it she groaned then pulled away. "I really should help Bobby."

"Come on... it's one day. He'll understand. Plus, Sam's here with nothing else to do. He can help."

She kissed him and he smiled against her lips, pulling her with him as he rolled over so that she was laying on top of him. Her hair fell around them and he reached up to move it back.

"Why do I always give in to you?" she asked.

"I have that affect on women," he smiled.

"Oh really? Do you still test that theory?"

"Only on you."

"Good answer."

She kissed his neck, and he slowly started lifting her shirt. She removed her lips just long enough for him to pull it over her head. He flipped them over. Laying just to her side, his leg tangled with hers, he ran a hand down the side of her face. "It's gonna be a good day."

Dean and Grace finally made their way downstairs around noon. They headed straight for the kitchen.

"Anything good to eat?" Dean asked opening the fridge.

Sam was sitting at Bobby's desk, his leg propped up on the chair that usually sat in front. "Leftover pizza and stuff for a sandwich."

Grace ran her hand over Dean's shoulders. She reached past him and grabbed a beer, handing it to him. "Go sit... I'll make you a sandwich."

Dean kissed her and smiled. "You're too good to me." Dean looked around as he walked over to the couch to sit down. "Where's Bobby?"

"Out," Sam said. "Someone called for an FBI supervisor a few towns over. He went to help out."

"What are you working on?" Dean asked, motioning to the pile of books and papers Sam had in front of him.

"Actually, Bobby asked if I'd help him and Grace with some research while I'm laid up. I'm just looking over her stuff trying to catch up... And this folder..."

Grace walked into the room with sandwiches for her and Dean. Sam looked up at her. "Grace, you put this together yourself?"

She glanced at the folder and slightly blushed. "Uh... Yeah."

"What is it?" Dean asked before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Something I've been working on for the past couple of weeks. There have been three mine cave-ins over the past month. Different companies, different states... No apparent connection, but it just seemed odd to me. I started pulling together newspaper articles and watching news interviews, looking for anything out of the ordinary."

"And?" Dean asked, his mouth full.

"Nothing. So far it's just a feeling in my gut that something is wrong. And speaking of..." She grabbed the remote and turned on the news.

Dean made a face, still eating. "Seriously? We have to watch the news?"

"Hey, it's part of my research. It's also how we found you guys all those local hunts that kept you coming home to me on an almost nightly basis."

"Can't argue with that." he smiled. "So what's with your gut on this mine thing?"

She shook her head. "I'm not too sure. I just find it strange that they were so close together. I mean, how often do you hear about trapped miners?"

"Not three times in a month," Sam said.

A little while later Grace pulled a chair from the kitchen and dove into research with Sam. Dean stretched out on the couch watching tv, which was still on the news at Grace's insistence. After a while she glanced over at Dean and found him watching her. When their eyes met, they both smiled.

"What?" she asked.

"You're really sexy when you get interested in that stuff."

Sam rolled his eyes and cleared his throat to remind Dean that he was still in the room.

"Dean..." Grace blushed and motioned toward Sam with a slight tilt of her head. "Why don't you help us?"

"Research that's not even for us? No thanks." He stood up and walked toward the door. "I think I'll go give Baby a tune-up."

Grace almost abandoned Sam at the thought of Dean under the hood of the car. She loved to watch him work on the Impala. He enjoyed it so much, and she found it incredibly sexy when he was covered in grease in his tattered jeans, working with his hands. The news made her stay. As she was deciding what to do she overheard the reporter mention another mine collapse.

"This is the fourth such mine collapse in less than a month. Companies are frantically working to inspect all operational mines, suspecting some sort of foul play. This tragedy puts the death toll this month at thirty-seven. There have been just five survivors, with just one from this latest collapse."

Grace was staring at the tv when she heard Sam. "Another one. It certainly does seem weird."

"Yeah, I think it's time to start looking into those survivors."


	3. Chapter 3

Grace spent the next few hours going over the articles in her folder and searching online for any information she could find about the survivors of the mine collapses. Sam had moved back to the couch, so Grace was at Bobby's desk. Dean had finished with the car an hour earlier. He showered and went for food.

Grace was starting to get blurry-eyed, and she was about to take a break when she found a connection between two of the cave-ins.

"Oh wow..."

Sam looked up at her, "What's up?"

"I just found a memorial website for someone who died in the second cave-in."

"And?"

"There's a place for people to leave comments and stuff. One of them says 'It's so sad that he survived one collapse, only to have his life taken in another one a week later.'"

"He survived the first collapse?"

"Yeah." She opened a new window and did a quick search on the first collapse. After a few links she found a statement from the survivor. "He wasn't trapped in the mine. He said he heard some noises toward the entrance and went to check it out. The mine caved in just as he reached the entrance and he was able to get out of the way."

"So, what was he doing at the second one?"

Grace went back to the memorial website and looked around. "It looks like he insisted on getting right back to work. They moved him to a mine a few cities over... that's the second mine that collapsed."

"And he died there?"

"Yeah."

Sam was too interested now. He made his way over to the desk, using his crutches, and sat in the chair from the kitchen, his casted leg stretched out to the side. Grace turned the laptop so he could read for himself.

"You know what you have to do next, right?" Sam asked.

"See if any other survivors died in the following collapses?"

Sam nodded. "That could be the connection you've been looking for."

Dean walked through the door at that moment with a large bag.

"Fried chicken! Get it while it's hot!"

Grace glanced up. "Can you just bring mine over here, babe?"

"No... You need a break. You've been at that for hours and you don't even know if it's a real case."

"She may be onto something, Dean," Sam said. "She made a connection between two of the cave-ins."

Dean smiled at her. "Did you?"

"Yep."

"Well, come eat... and you can fill me in."

She told him all about what she found. Jerry Finn escaped the first cave-in only to perish in the second. She would be checking into the other survivors to see if there were any more connections.

"That does seem like something," Dean said. "You know," he said to Sam, "it kinda sounds like that demon we went after with the plane crashes."

"Yeah, you're right. It went after all the people who survived that first crash... on their next flight."

"You guys really think it's a demon?" Grace asked.

"Could be," Dean said. "We'll look for more connections with the survivors."

"We?" Grace asked, a little surprised.

Dean's face fell a little, "Unless you don't want my help. I know this is the first case you've put together by yourself..."

"No, I'm just surprised you're volunteering to do research."

"This is for you, sweetheart. Just tell me what you need." Dean gave her one of his brightest smiles. She got out of her chair, took his face in her hands, and kissed him.

"All I'll ever need is you," she said staring into his eyes. "But help with this would be nice."

After a little more research, they were able to get lists of the people involved in the cave-ins. Comparing the lists, they found that there was no real link. The survivor of the second collapse was not in the third. And there was another inconsistency.

"Here," Grace said, sitting at the desk. "The third collapse had, not one, but two survivors: Charles Landry and Walter Stevenson. Landry is listed among the dead in the last collapse. Stevenson isn't listed at all."

"Just like the survivor of the second one." Dean said, leaning over her shoulder.

"This breaks any pattern."

"No, it just breaks the pattern you thought you saw. There could still be some kind of pattern here," he said standing up. "Someone needs to talk to that guy Stevenson."

Grace stared at Sam's cast, propped up on the sofa. "You had to get your leg broken, huh? You two should be handling this one... If there's anything here at all. I'm starting to think it's just supernatural paranoia."

"No," Dean said. "Go with you gut. I'll check it out. I just need an address for Stevenson."

"You're not going alone, Dean."

"Why not?" he asked, folding his arms.

"We don't know what this is."

"I've worked lots of jobs alone with no idea what I was hunting."

"Not since you met me," she said. He could see the worry on her face. She stood in front of him. "It's one thing to have you go off and put yourself in danger with Sam. At least you have your brother watching your back..."

"Well, then, I'll talk to Bobby. Maybe he'll go with me. Will that make you happy?"

"Yeah... happier than you goin' alone." She closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around him. "I just don't want anything to happen to you, and this thing gives me a bad feeling."

Dean held her close and kissed her forehead. "Supernatural or not, it should give you a bad feeling. A lot of innocent people died in those mines."

"It's different."

"Yeah," Dean said. "I know that feeling. Why don't you go take a shower. I'll call Bobby while Sam gets the info on Stevenson."

"Okay," Grace sighed.

Dean gave her a kiss, then watched her as she went upstairs. When he turned back around Sam was smiling at him.

"What?"

"Nothin', man. I just never thought I'd see you..."

"See me what?"

"The way you are with her."

"Shut up..." Dean rolled his eyes and headed for the kitchen.

"It's a good thing, Dean," Sam yelled after him. He smiled again, shaking his head, and made his way over to the desk to get information on Stevenson.


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm sorry, son," Bobby told Dean. "I'm stuck out here for at least another forty-eight hours. This hunter stepped in something nasty, and now that the cops think I'm his supervisor I can't just bail."

"I understand Bobby. We'll figure something out. Thanks."

Dean hung up and walked back into the other room where Sam was at Bobby's desk.

"Well, Bobby won't be back for a few days, and this really shouldn't sit that long."

"Grace won't like you goin' alone," Sam said.

"Yeah, I know."

Sam watched Dean trying to figure out what to do. He could almost see his thought process, trying to convince Grace he would be okay.

"Dean, why don't you take Grace with you?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"You know why not! We're not gonna go through that again."

"She's good, Dean. She was good that night. You told her so yourself."

"No, Sammy." Dean shook his head and started pacing.

"She's good under pressure, she's prepared, she knows the risks... You're the one in her way."

"I'm in her way?" Dean asked, the look on his face getting angrier by the minute.

"We both know that she'd be right by your side hunting, but she stays behind to make you happy."

Dean sat on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees and running his hands over his face. "I'm just worried about her getting hurt again."

"That's all you two do is worry about each other. Give her a chance, man."

When Grace came back down from her shower, Dean told her Bobby wouldn't be able to go. She looked disappointed.

"So, now what?" she asked, standing in front of the couch.

Dean hesitated a moment, then set his face to show there was no arguing. "I can go alone, or we can pass it off to another hunter. Your call."

Grace's disappointment mixed with anger. He was still considering going alone. She hated the idea of passing the job along to someone she didn't know or trust, but the fact that he brought up going alone again made her angry.

She shook her head, with a bitter smile on her face. "Do what you want. I'm goin' to bed."

After they heard her door slam shut, Sam stared at Dean. "You're an idiot."

"If she wants to go so bad, why didn't she bring it up?"

"Because she promised you she wouldn't hunt until you were comfortable with it. She's waiting for you to ask her. Grace isn't like that... she's not gonna harp on you until you give in. At least not on something this big."

Dean ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Well, if I ask her now she's gonna think it's just because she's angry with me... and that wouldn't be totally wrong." He let out a sigh and stood. "Times like this, you question if a relationship is even worth it."

Sam looked at Dean in surprise, and watched him make his way to the stairs. "Is it?"

Dean stared up toward Grace's bedroom from the bottom of the staircase. Without looking back at Sam, he answered, "She is," and headed up the stairs. He half-expected the bedroom door to be locked, but it wasn't. Grace was laying on the far side of the bed, not her usual side, facing away from the door. She didn't want to see him when he came in. Or maybe, Dean thought, she didn't want him to see her, which would mean she was crying. Dean mentally scolded himself. He definitely didn't want to make her cry. He got under the covers and slowly put his arm over her. When she didn't pull away, he took it as a good sign.

"I know I made you angry, but..."

"I really don't wanna talk about this right now."

Dean had learned not to push her. When she didn't want to talk it only made her more angry when he kept bringing it up. This definitely wasn't the first time they had an argument. Their lifestyle kept nerves on edge a lot, which opened the door for plenty of fights, but Grace never tried to manipulate him. He always knew why she was mad... she made sure of it. But there were times, like now, that he knew she wanted to cool off, so he let her.

He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. After a few minutes Grace turned over and put her head on his chest, making Dean smile. Even when they fought, she let him know she loved him.

He felt a tear fall onto his bare skin, and his heart sank a little, but he kept quiet. They would talk in the morning. For now, he would just hold her tight.

Dean was the first to wake up the next morning. He had actually woken up several times during the night. His mind was so preoccupied over whether he should ask Grace to go with him or not that he had trouble sleeping. Grace had tossed and turned all night too, but she made her way back to where she started - her head on Dean's chest, her arm draped over his waist.

He lay there, still thinking about what to do, when Grace finally started to stir. She lifted her hand to rub her eyes, and Dean lightly rubbed her back.

"Good morning," he said.

"'Morning. Did you sleep?"

"Not really."

"Me either."

"I noticed... You ready to talk this out?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

"Good. Before I say something that gets you more mad at me... I know you're angry about me hunting alone, but why exactly? It's one thing for you to worry, but to get that angry?"

She still had her head on his chest. Her hand reached for his and they laced fingers.

"I'm not so much mad at you hunting alone... You're right, that makes me worried, not mad. What made me mad was that it was like you ignored me."

"How?"

She sat up a little, leaning on her elbow, to look at him. "I told you I didn't want you going alone, and when Bobby said he couldn't make it you gave me two options. What was one of those options, Dean?"

"Me going alone."

"Exactly. Completely disregarding what I asked."

"I didn't mean to ignore you... I didn't ignore you. Those honestly were the options."

"So, is me going on a hunt an option? I mean, you told me you didn't want me putting myself in danger anymore, but technically it is still an option, right?"

"Do you want to go?"

"That's not the point, Dean. I haven't hunted for six months because I know it worries you and you asked me not to. I'm not asking you to stop hunting. I'm asking you not to go alone... not this job. I don't like it. I had hoped you'd respect that."

"I understand..."

Grace nodded and let out a quiet sigh.

"But," Dean said, "I was honestly asking... Do you wanna go with me?"

Her face was full of surprise and confusion. "Are you really okay with it?"

"No, not really. But I'd rather be worried and have you with me than have you worried and angry and miles away. This is really your case anyway. "

Grace laid her head back down on his chest. "I hate fighting."

"Sweetheart, what we do isn't fighting. I've had fights with girlfriends... they were nothing like this."

"Only because we've learned not to push each others' buttons."

"True... and we still get to have make-up sex, right?" She looked up at him and he was giving her a big, cheesy grin.

"Baby, I don't think I have the energy."

"Come on," he said rolling her onto her back, his face just inches from hers. "I'll take care of you."

"You always take care of me."

He kissed her lips, gently. "Nice and slow... I promise," he said with a smile.

"Well, if you promise..." she said. She couldn't help but smile. She was incapable of telling this man 'no.'

He moved next to her, laying on his side. When he leaned toward her his body was slightly on top of hers. He kissed her gently, his lips just barely touching hers. His thumb brushed her cheek. He kissed the corner of her mouth before leaving a trail of kisses along her jawline. His hand traveled down her neck, over her shoulder, then down her side, finally resting on her hip. His barely-there kisses were driving her crazy. His light touch seduced her. She grabbed his face in her hands and stared into his eyes.

"Are you gonna kiss me, or what?"

"I thought that's what I was doing," he said smiling.

"I mean a real kiss."

"A real kiss? You're gonna have to tell me."

"Tell you?"

He whispered low by her ear, "Tell me how you want me to kiss you." He pulled back and looked into her eyes. Waiting.

She bit her lip nervously. They had only done something like this once before, back when they were hiding their relationship. She had hesitated then, and she hesitated now.

"Tell me," he said, never taking his eyes from hers.

"The kind of kiss that makes me thankful I'm not standing up, because my legs turn into jello. Soft," she said, running her fingers along his lips, "but firm. Passionate... Tender... Possessive."

Dean's eyebrows went up. "Possessive?"

"The kind of kiss that, if anyone saw, they would know I'm completely yours."

"Are you completely mine?"

"In every way."

Dean pushed back and sat up. "Come here," he said, pulling her into his lap, her legs wrapped around him. He moved both of his hands into her hair and looked into her eyes before his mouth came down on hers. She moaned and a shiver ran through her entire body.

They stayed that way for several minutes. Dean watched her through half-open eyes as they kissed. The look of ecstasy on her face made him want her even more. He began to slowly lift her shirt, letting his fingers graze her sides as he pulled the material up. She was so completely lost in his kiss that she didn't even realize he was removing it.

"Arms up, sweetheart."

She did as he asked, and he pulled the shirt from her, leaving her in only her panties. He kissed down to her neck and put his focus there for a while. She ran her fingers through his hair, softly holding his head close to her, not wanting his lips to lose contact with her skin.

He laid her back down, staying on top of her this time. "How was that?" he asked. She stared at him, blinking.

"What was the question?"

Dean flashed a satisfied grin, and Grace lifted her head to pull him into another kiss. They made love just like he promised... Slow and easy.


	5. Chapter 5

Dean held Grace close to his side after they made love. Her head was resting on his shoulder, his arm around her. He rubbed her arm as her fingers lightly played over his chest.

"You know," he said, "you never really gave me an answer."

"To?"

"Do you wanna go with me on this job?"

"You know I do. I just want you to really be okay with it, and not just trying to make me happy so we don't argue."

"Well, if I'm being 100% honest, no... I'm not really okay with it, but I know you're capable. And I know the job has risks no matter what. Even you sitting in Bobby Singer's house is a risk."

"I promise I'll be careful."

He squeezed her tight. "I guess that's all I can really ask." He kissed her, then smiled. "We're gonna have to get you a suit for when we go talk to that guy, Stevenson."

She let out a suspicious laugh. "Why does that thought make you smile?"

"I'm picturing you in heels and a skirt... in the back of the Impala... straddled over my lap."

She blushed at the way he was looking at her. "I hate to disappoint you, but if we're going as any kind of law enforcement I'm wearing pants and no heels. If I have to run after anyone, or anything, I will not be in a skirt."

"Well, lucky for me, I was thinking we should go as safety inspectors... high level investigation into all mine collapses over the past month. You know, just getting his story officially. No arresting, so no running." He grinned at her as his eyes ran down the length of her body. "I can't wait to get you in a skirt."

When they made their way downstairs it was a little after 10:00 am. Sam was asleep on the couch. Grace went into the kitchen to fix something to eat, but Dean stopped her.

"We'll pick something up on the way. We need to head out. Pack what you'll need. We'll stop along the way to get your suit."

Grace grabbed a bag of chips then headed back upstairs to pack. Dean pulled a chair next to the couch and woke Sam up.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Nothing's wrong. Grace is coming with me on this mine thing."

"Good," Sam said smiling.

"Look, man, I still don't like it. I'm gonna call you. When we go out on something case-related and when we're done. And I'm gonna either call or text you every night before midnight. If I don't, and you can't get in touch with me or Grace, you get your ass on a plane and come find Grace."

"You mean go find you and Grace."

"Grace first. Would I even ask for this if I was going alone? No. You find Grace and make sure she's ok."

"Alright."

They stopped for food on the way out of town and were soon on their way to Colorado to talk to the survivor of the third collapse, Walter Stevenson. Dean had Sam doing some research on mining, looking for a good cover for him and Grace, as well as getting more information on the survivor of the last collapse. Names still hadn't been released to the public, so Sam would have to get creative.

Once they crossed into Colorado Dean made his way to the nearest mall where they find Grace a suit. As they walked through looking for a store that would sell what she was looking for, Grace noticed a lot of girls checking Dean out. He didn't seem to notice, which made her smile. It was something she watched gradually leave him... his eye for other women. He never made her feel like he was coming onto other women, but when they first got serious he still noticed them. She knew. He was, after all, a man who had a reputation with women. But the closer they got, the less he noticed.

What he had developed in its place was an eye for guys who were eying her. They were walking next to each other and Grace stopped to look at outfits in a store window when Dean saw two guys whispering. One of them was staring hard at Grace. As he started to walk forward, Dean put his arm around Grace. The guy stopped and looked back at his buddy, who urged him forward. He started moving toward Grace again, which Dean saw out of the corner of his eye.

Dean stepped between Grace and the display window.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He smiled at her, put his hands in her hair, and kissed her deeply. Grace was taken by surprise, but she sank into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him. When he pulled back he looked into her eyes, smiling.

"What was that?" she asked.

"That was me possessing you."

"What?"

"There's a guy over there who doesn't respect the fact that my arm around you means that you belong to me," he said, never taking his eyes from Grace. "So, I made a bigger point... Used that possessive kiss you like so much."

"Yes, you did," she said, smiling. "Is the guy still there?"

"Nope, saw him leave out of the corner of my eye when you put your arms around me."

She heard someone talking as they passed close by and she remembered where they were. "I can't believe you kissed me like that in a mall. That kinda kiss is usually followed by the shedding of clothes," she whispered.

"We could find a dressing room," he said with a wicked grin.

Her eyes went wide and she smacked his arm, making him laugh. He pulled her into a hug.

"I'm just kidding... sorta."

After walking a bit longer they found a woman's clothing store that sold business attire. Grace pulled him into the store and found a chair for him.

"Why do I need to sit?"

"This isn't you or Sam walking into a store, giving them your size, and walking out with a suit that fits. Women's clothing is insane and the size just doesn't matter. Everything has to be tried on and it'll take a while, so get comfy."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This chapter is short, and total filler, but I thought it should be posted as is. Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! Please remember to review. Reviews are nice. :)**

Dean sat down as Grace started going through the clothes. When he saw her lift up a pair of pants he stood and walked up behind her.

"Skirt," he whispered, his voice deep and growly.

She let out a low gasp, not realizing he was behind her. "I told you I don't want..."

"Skirt," he said again. He had a slight grin on his face, and a look in his eyes that almost made her knees buckle.

"Ok... skirt."

Dean returned to his chair and waited for her to finish. It was taking longer than he expected. She took five suits into the dressing room, but didn't like any of them. So, she found five more. Four tries later, she was still looking. Dean had been scanning the clothes from his seat, and saw a couple of skirts he thought she would look hot in. When she came out of the dressing room again, he walked her over to those.

"They're a bit short for this, aren't they?" she asked.

"They'll do."

She grabbed both suits and went into the dressing room. She actually liked both of them. She opened the dressing room door and waved Dean over. As he approached, Grace held her arms out and spun around.

"Nice!" he smiled. "So this is the one?"

"Actually, I like both. You have good taste."

"I just know what I like on my woman," he said with a wink.

"Check this one out and I'll try the other one on and you can tell me which one I should get."

"Sweetheart, I don't care. Just pick one," he said leaning against the door frame of the dressing room.

"What if I let you in here and you can help me change?"

Dean's eyebrow went up and he silently entered the dressing room. Grace laughed as she closed the door. Dean sat down on the small bench and folded his arms.

"Ok," Grace said, "get a good look at this one." She spun around.

"Got it."

She started to remove the jacket and noticed he was just staring at her, grinning.

"I thought you were gonna help?"

"I think I'd rather watch."

She shook her head and removed the rest of the suit. She slowed when removing her shirt. After undoing the buttons she let the long sleeves glide down her arms behind her. She caught it before it fell to the floor and tossed it at Dean. Next was the skirt. Dean watched as she slowly pulled down the side zipper. She turned her back to him as she pulled the skirt down, wiggling her hips as it went. She heard Dean groan and it made her smile. She leaned over, putting her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him.

"I thought you were against my dressing room idea?"

"This is as far as it goes."

"You sure about that?" he asked, his hands on her bare thighs.

"Yes... I have to try on the other one."

She turned around, but before she could reach for the other skirt Dean was up and grabbed her wrists. He pinned her hands to the wall, gently pressing himself into her back.

"You know what you've told me about finishing what I start?" he whispered in her ear. Grace nodded. "Well," Dean said, "you need to practice what you preach."

"People will hear us," she whispered.

"Then you'd better be quiet." He started kissing her neck. She leaned her head back, resting it on his shoulder.

"Dean..." she whimpered.

He released her hands and pulled her panties down. He made quick work of his pants and boxers as she turned around to face him.

"Are we really doing this?" Grace thought.

He lifted her off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pressed her back against the wall. He took her, there in the dressing room. It was urgent and frantic. Grace struggled not to make noise. Dean buried his face in Grace's neck and she clutched the back of his shirt.

As they came back down, Grace's legs slipped from his waist. Dean leaned against Grace, his hands on the wall. They were both breathing heavily, but quietly.

"I like the first suit," Dean said in a normal voice. "You ready to get out of here?" He pulled his clothes back up.

"Yeah... Why don't you go wait in a chair outside. I'll be out in a minute." Dean kissed her and walked out of the dressing room. Grace leaned her head back against the door, smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

Dean paid for Grace's suit, and the shoes she found to go with it, and they walked back to the Impala. He had his arm around her waist the whole way. He hadn't said much since the dressing room, and Grace couldn't figure out why. When they got to the car Dean walked her to the passenger side and reached to open the door, but Grace leaned against it before he could open it.

"What are you doin'?" he asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothin's wrong."

"That's crap... you're too quiet."

Dean looked past her and shook his head.

"Dean..."

"I'm just... feelin' a little like a jerk."

"Why?"

"I knew you really didn't want to do that in there, and I did it anyway."

"Did you hear me complaining?" she asked with a grin.

"That's not the point. Just because I can't control myself... Look, you've said before how you always give into me. I don't ever want you to feel like I'm..."

"Woah!" She interrupted him. "When I give in, it's only because I really do want to, and you're persistent. Very persistent," she smiled. "If I ever don't want to do something, trust me, I will make sure you know." When he didn't say anything she kept going. "Baby, I love you... and I love that sometimes you want me so bad that you have trouble keeping your hands to yourself. I certainly have my moments with you. Remember when you and Sam were doing all that research on those carvings you found?"

Dean started smiling. "Oh, yeah. You didn't make that easy on me."

"Remember where my hand ended up under the table?"

"Yeah."

"And what happened as soon as Sam left for food?"

"Yeah... Sofa." Dean said, his smile growing larger.

"Bobby almost walked in on us," Grace said laughing. "I couldn't help myself. Did you feel like I pressured you or took advantage of you?"

"You're kidding. You remember who you're talking to, right?"

Grace laughed. "Unless I straight out tell you 'no' you have my permission to keep going. And what just happened in there... I admit I was nervous, but it was kinda fun." She smiled at him, slightly blushing.

Dean grinned and reached around her to open the car door. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah."

By the time they made it to their destination it was late. Dean found a motel and got them checked in. While Grace was in the shower, Dean called Sam.

"We're gonna hang tight at the motel for the night and head over to Stevenson's tomorrow. You got a good cover for us?"

"How's 'Mine Safety and Health Administration' sound?"

"Sounds good. I'll swing by a Kwik Kopy and make some IDs. I'll call you before we head out. Just remember what I told you."

"Yeah... Midnight."

"Later."

When Dean heard the water in the shower stop he walked to the bathroom door.

"Hey..."

"Yeah?"

"Sam found a cover for us. 'Mine Safety and Health Administration.'"

"That'll work."

Grace came out of the bathroom and grabbed her blow dryer.

"All yours," she said. Dean grabbed her, spun her around, and kissed her before grabbing his boxers and heading into the bathroom. When he was done, Grace was already in bed, laying on her side. He climbed under the covers and wrapped an arm around her waist. She covered his arm with her own.

"Dean..."

"Yeah?"

"When you spun me around like that, it made me realize something. You know what we've never done together?"

"What's that?" he asked, with a grin on his face.

"Dance."

His grin faded. "Sweetheart, I don't dance."

"Not even a slow dance with your girlfriend, alone in a room?"

"I don't think so."

"You know," she said, thinking she could entice him, "it's as close to sex as you can get without clothes coming off."

"If I'm alone in a room with my girlfriend, we can just have sex. No need to get 'close' to it."

Grace huffed, "Are you telling me you'll never dance with me?"

"Odds are against it, babe."

"That's disappointing."

"I'll find another way to make it up to you." He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. "Get some sleep."

The next morning they went to grab a quick bite to eat, then headed back to the motel to get ready. When he was done he leaned against the door frame of the bathroom, where Grace was putting the final touches on her hair, and let out a whistle.

"Damn, baby. You look good."

She turned to smile at him and the sight in front of her stopped her dead in her tracks. She realized then that she had never actually seen him in a suit. He hadn't had to use it since before the hell hound attack, and he was always on the road, without her, when he needed it. He was gorgeous! When their eyes reconnected Dean was smiling at her.

"Guess you're having the same thoughts about me, huh?"

"Oh yeah."

Ten minutes later they were on their way to see Walter Stevenson. This would be Grace's first time doing an interview like this, so Dean walked her through how to act and what questions he would be asking.

He had run to the copy place to make their fake IDs while she was getting ready. He handed it to her and she looked it over.

"Nice work. Who's Roxy Petrucci?"

"Coolest chick drummer ever."

"Should have known," she said shaking her head at his rock aliases.

"Just let him do most of the talking. If we start trying to get too detailed  
It won't take him long to figure out that we're not who we say we are."

"Got it. In fact, I'll try not to say a word. I'll just observe and take notes. If he asks, you can tell him I'm new and learning the ropes."

Dean nodded, "Good idea."

Dean parked on the street in front of Stevenson's house and they both got out. When they reached the porch, Dean rang the bell and adjusted his tie. Grace hid a smile. Dean Winchester in a suit and tie. She still couldn't get over it. She could almost see him running a Fortune 500 company... almost.

A man in jeans and a button down shirt answered the door. "May I help you?"

"Are you Walter Stevenson?" Dean asked.

"Yes."

Dean pulled out his ID and Grace followed his lead.

"I'm John Jones, this is Roxy Petrucci. We're with the Mine Safety and Health Administration. We'd like to talk to you about what you experienced... see if we can gather any information that would help us prevent this from happening again."

"I've already talked to local cops, Homeland Security, the news, mining companies..."

"Sir," Grace interrupted. "I know you're probably tired of talking about it. I'm sure you just want to forget it and move on, but we've had yet another cave-in. If we can't find out what's happening, there may be another. If they keep happening, will you really ever be able to move on? We need your help, sir."

Stevenson nodded and held the door open for them. Once inside, he motioned for them to sit on the couch. Dean took over.

"We want to get your take on it, so if you could go over that day... from the time you arrived at work to the time of the collapse. Just tell us what happened."

Stevenson recounted the day in detail. Grace was amazed at how much he remembered. She had blocked out a lot of the hell hound attack, but then she had lost a lot of blood and couldn't focus. She jotted down any notes she thought might be important later as he continued.

"We had been in the mine for about two hours. Me and Chuck were loading some carts with supplies and we heard a woman's voice. It sounded like it was coming from deeper in the mine, but Chuck remembered that he saw a female inspector on the grounds, so we assumed she must be close to the entrance and her voice was echoing. Then we heard a tapping, kind of a knocking sound. It almost sounded like someone was working in an area over our heads, but that was impossible. So Chuck decided to go grab the supervisor, who was outside. It caved in just as Chuck reached the entrance. The force of the collapse knocked him out of the way.

Grace held up a finger. "I'm sorry. Chuck? Is that Charles Landry?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. We all call him Chuck."

"That's okay. I just wanted to make sure." She gave him a smile and went back to her notes.

"So," Dean said, "you were actually caught in the collapse... inside the mine."

Stevenson nodded his head, biting his bottom lip. "The only one to make it out alive. I wasn't directly under the collapse. I was further back. The way the rocks fell around me... it was a miracle."

"Now, Mr. Landry returned to work immediately, is that correct?" Dean asked.

"Yeah... dumb bastard." Stevenson was getting a little choked up. "He died in that last cave-in. They offered me a job in the same mine. Coulda been me in there too. I just couldn't go back that soon. I was trapped in that mine for days. Couldn't see going right back into one. I felt weak making the decision not to go back to work. Now I thank God I didn't."

Dean nodded and said, "Just a couple more questions. Other than the voice and the knocking, did you hear any other strange sounds or noises?"

Stevenson thought a minute, "No, not that I can remember."

"What about smells? Any strange odors?"

"No... nothing odd."

"Alright," Dean said, standing from the couch. "That's all we need for now. Thank you for your time, sir." Dean shook his hand as Grace stood, and they made their way back to the car.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I don't want to beg for reviews, but I only got one on my last chapter. So I'm asking nicely... Please review**. **You** **don't have to like it. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Any feedback is appreciated.**

Dean called Sam from the car.

"Hey, we're done with Stevenson... on our way back to the motel. I'm gonna put you on speaker so Grace can listen in."

Once the phone was on speaker, Grace took it so Dean could focus on driving.

"What did you guys find out?" Sam asked.

"Stevenson said he and the other survivor heard noises before the collapse. A woman's voice and a tapping sound."

"Knocking," Grace said. "He said it was more like a knocking sound, like someone was working above them."

"That's right," Dean said. "But he said that's impossible."

"A knocking?"

"Yeah, why? You know what that is?"

"No. It doesn't sound like anything I know, but then I don't know much about mines."

Dean went into more detail, retelling Stevenson's story. Grace could picture Sam with his laptop, already doing searches with the new information. She would be doing the same thing. She zoned out for a minute while Dean was talking. Her eyes scanned his body. That suit was a distraction. It fit him so well... in all the right places. Such a welcome change from the oversized flannel that hid his gorgeous physique. Sam mentioned the last cave-in, and she snapped back to the situation at hand.

"The survivor of the last collapse is Evan Porter. He's decided to go back to work, but he asked for a big change. He's actually headed to Colorado. Should be there day after tomorrow, so you two can stay put."

"Awesome."

Dean pulled up to the motel.

"I'm gonna take you off speaker. We're getting out of the car."

He put the phone back up to his ear as he and Grace walked to their room. Once inside, Dean emptied his pockets onto the dresser. Grace watched every move he made as she sat on the edge of the bed. He was standing in the middle of the room, his back to Grace, still talking to Sam. She wasn't listening anymore.

She stood and walked up behind him. She ran her hands up his back and over his shoulders, grabbing his lapel and pulling the jacket open. Since he was holding the phone he had to switch hands, but he pulled his arms out of the jacket one by one.

"Thanks, babe," he said over his shoulder.

She walked in front of him and found that he had already loosened his tie. She slipped her fingers into the knot and pulled. It came undone and she slowly pulled it from his neck. As it dropped to the floor she glanced up at him and saw that she had his attention. She slowly undid the top three buttons on his shirt, and his eyes drifted shut when she kissed the skin exposed beneath. She let her tongue make a trail to his neck before kissing him there.

Sam was still talking, and Dean had to stifle a moan. Grace stood back and stared into Dean's eyes as she unbuttoned and removed her jacket. Giving him a repeat performance of the dressing room, she slowly began to unbutton her shirt. She left the shirt on, though open, and slowly slid the zipper on her skirt down. Once again, she wiggled her hips as she removed it and let it fall to the floor.

"Sam..." Dean said into the phone. Grace already had her hands on Dean's belt buckle, working it open. "Sam, I'll call you back later." The belt hit the floor and Grace had his pants undone. "Nothin's wrong," Dean said. "We're hungry." Grace finished unbuttoning Dean's shirt, exposing his bare chest and stomach. She leaned over slightly, kissing her way down. "Later, Sammy."

Dean disconnected and tossed his phone onto the dresser. He wasted no time. Wrapping an arm around Grace's waist, he lifted her off the floor and scooped up her legs with his other arm to carry her to the bed, kissing her the whole way. She kicked her shoes off before he placed her on the bed, laying on top of her. Their lips never lost contact.

"You keep this up," he said, "and I'm gonna associate that skirt with sex."

"Sorry, babe, but I'm not seeing a downside." She grinned as his lips came down on hers again. The front of her shirt had fallen shut, so Dean slowly pulled it open again before running his hand down her side.

He rested his hand on her hip as he kissed her neck. His grip tightened and he pulled her toward him as he flipped them over so that she was on top. She removed his pants, then returned to straddle his thighs. Tugging on his open shirt, she pulled him up into a sitting position.

"Kiss me the way you did the other night."

Dean smiled at her before burying his hands in her hair and pulling her lips to his. Her hands clutched his open shirt. As the kiss deepened, she let go and ran her hands down his chest and around to his back. Dean's hands went down to her shoulders, slipping beneath her shirt. He slowly began to push it back, down her arms. She removed her arms from him long enough for her shirt to come off, then her hands were at his back again, beneath his shirt, holding him close.

His hands lingered on her back a while before unclasping her bra. She forced herself to break away from his body so he could remove it. He looked into her eyes as he covered her breasts with his large hands, then lowered his mouth to them.

Grace adjusted herself in Dean's lap so that their bodies were closer together, but she leaned back a little so he could continue the wonderful things we was doing with his mouth. Her hands went into Dean's hair and she began gently rolling her hips. He groaned against her and it sent shivers through her entire body. After a while, he pulled back and kissed her on the lips as he removed his shirt and tossed it to the floor. Grace watched it fall.

"I'm almost sad to see that go," she said. "You were so hot in that suit, baby." She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued her movement in his lap. He grabbed her hips, slowing her just a little, and let his fingers slide into the top of her panties. They were both starting to breathe heavy.

"You were killing me in that skirt," Dean said. "I wanted to throw you down on Stevenson's couch."

He kissed her again, and as he pulled away she looked into his eyes and said, "Show me." She stopped her movement and ran her hands down his chest before he flipped her onto her back. He kissed his way down her body, removing her panties and then his boxers.

He found his place between her legs, staring into her eyes as he entered her. They both wanted each other so badly that it didn't take long for the pace to pick up. When they found release, Dean laid his forehead against hers with his eyes closed.

"I love you so much, baby."

"I love you too," she said, smiling.


	9. Chapter 9

Dean and Grace spent the next half hour in each other's arms, talking and kissing. Now they lay on their sides, their foreheads almost touching. Dean was holding Grace's hand, and she played with his fingers. He watched her facial expressions. She seemed to be thinking about something, but whatever it was... she was smiling. That made him happy.

"You're beautiful," he said.

Grace blushed. He could still make her feel like a school girl whose crush just admitted he liked her.

"You got something on your mind?" he asked.

"Do you realize this is the most alone we've ever been? Porter doesn't come to town until day after tomorrow, so the case is on hold. We don't have to be anywhere. There's no one we know in the next room... We have time to just be together. It's nice."

"Almost like a weekend for a normal couple."

She smiled at him. "Your turn... What's on your mind?"

"Lately? Mostly what I did to get you in my life."

"You saved me... literally."

"Yeah, but I save a lot of people. You stayed. It still amazes me sometimes."

"Know what amazes me?"

"Hmm?"

"You do." Grace moved into him and kissed his lips. Dean stared down at their hands, still together.

"You hungry? I'm getting hungry," he said.

"I could eat."

"You wanna bring something back here or eat out?"

"Let's eat out. It'll be like a date."

"Something else normal couples do."

"We're not normal, and I wouldn't have it any other way. If either of us were normal we never would have met. And what's with all this 'normal' talk, anyway?"

"Sometimes I just think about what your life should be like."

"Dean..."

"No," he interrupted. "I'm serious. You should have a husband and kids and a pet... a normal life. I can't give you that."

"Who says I want kids and a pet?"

"So, just the husband then? I can't give you that either. I'm legally dead. And if I'm not dead, I'm a fugitive. What kind of husband is that?"

Grace couldn't speak. The implications of what he had just said... Did he want to marry her? He finally caught the look on her face. It was a mixture of happiness, sadness, and confusion. He sighed and sat up, running a hand through his hair. She sat up too, pulling the sheet with her, keeping it close to her.

"Yes, Grace." He turned and looked at her. "I would marry you."

After a minute of silence Grace said, "Let's do it."

A slight look of anger crossed Dean's face. "Have you heard a word I said?"

"Just us, right now."

"What?"

"Dean, I don't need a diamond, or a piece of paper. What I want is to know that I'm with a man who loves me and is committed to me. You say you would marry me... then let's just make that commitment to each other. Right here and now."

"You serious?" he asked. His face had softened, and Grace thought he looked like he liked the idea.

"I am."

"Okay... you wanna do the vows like they do in the movies, or somethin'?"

She almost laughed. He had that little boy look on his face, like when he was confused.

"No... just..." She thought the best way to explain what she wanted to do was to show him. "Dean, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I never thought I'd meet someone who would make me feel the way you make me feel. And in my heart, I'm already your wife."

Dean thought for a minute. "Do you remember anything from the hospital... after the hell hound?"

Grace looked confused. He hated talking about the attack. Why was he bringing this up now?

"After I woke up?"

"No... while you were asleep."

"How would I remember stuff that happened while I was asleep?"

Dean frowned a little. "Cas said you heard me."

"Well... maybe I did, but I don't remember. What did you say?"

"I was telling you about a time I heard you singing in the car. I sang a couple of lines of that song to you in the hospital."

Grace smiled. "You did?"

"Yeah."

"Sing them to me now?"

"Grace..."

"Come on," she said with a smile. Dean leaned into her, his lips by her ear, and sang softly.

"Baby, I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time. And maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you..." He stayed by her ear, not really sure he could look her in the eye. "That's how I feel about you, Grace. Not much scares me, but sometimes I'm scared by how much I love you."

Grace wrapped an arm around his neck. "You said that to me in the hospital?"

"Yeah... I wanna be with you for the rest of my life." He pulled back and look into her eyes, where a tear had formed, but not yet fallen. He wiped it away. "I love you."

He kissed her, and when he pulled back he had a smirk on his face. "Does this mean we're on our honeymoon now?"

"We've been on our honeymoon since you first told me you love me."

They got dressed and headed out to find a place to eat. Dean pulled up to a local diner and he and Grace both agreed to give it a try. He held the door open for her as she walked in. Once inside, Dean scanned for an empty booth.

"Over there," he pointed out to Grace. They sat across from each other, knowing that if they sat next to each other they wouldn't be able to keep their hands to themselves. After the waitress took their orders, Dean sat with his hands folded on the table. Grace reached over and covered his hands with hers. After staring at their hands for a few minutes, Dean pulled his free and held Grace's left hand, gently rubbing where a wedding ring would go with his thumb.

"You should have a ring."

"I don't need one... I told you that."

"I want everyone to know you're taken." He smiled at her and she blushed.

"Don't need a ring for that," she said. "I'll make sure they know."

Dean leaned forward across the table as far as he could. "Come here."

Grace also leaned forward, and they kissed. It lasted longer than either of them meant it to, and Grace jumped when they heard someone clear her throat. They looked up and saw the waitress with their plates. Grace blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear as she sat back down.

"Don't be ashamed, honey," she said and winked at Grace.

Dean was still holding Grace's hand. When she tried to pull it away to eat, his grip tightened.

"Hang on," he said. "I have an idea." His hands disappeared beneath the table for just a second, then reappeared. He took Grace's hand in one of his, then slid his ring, the one he always wore on his right hand, onto her ring finger.

"Dean..." She wanted to cry. She never saw him without that ring. She didn't know the story behind it, but she thought it must be important to him. It was far too big for her finger, but the gesture alone made her feel special.

"Maybe we can have it resized," he said.

"I've never seen this ring off of your finger."

"I've had it for years. I don't really ever take it off. It's sorta became a part of me... like you."

Grace slid out of her side of the booth and practically threw herself into his arms. Her arms were around his shoulders, her face buried in his neck, and he could feel her tears on his skin. He knew they happy tears, and he held her tight.

"I love you, Dean... so much."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

He held her for a minute before telling her they should eat. She didn't want to let him go. She stayed next to him and reached across the table, pulling her plate to her. They both had burgers, so they each needed both hands, but Grace found ways to keep their bodies in constant contact. Their legs were touching, and after every bite she took she laid her head against his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile. She was usually so composed, and now she seemed as if she didn't know what to do with herself.

She found that she couldn't finish her burger. It was pretty large, and the feeling in her stomach, like butterflies, had really taken away her hunger. She nibbled on her fries and turned slightly in the booth, placing one of her legs over Dean's leg. He was in the middle of taking a bite, and he looked down. She smiled at him, biting her fry.

She began to run her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, letting her nails lightly run over his skin. He had a few bites left of his burger, but he put it down and turned to Grace, putting his hand on her thigh.

"You ready to get out of here?"

Grace nodded and he leaned in, giving her a light kiss. When he got the waitress' attention he waved her over and asked for the check. They walked to the Impala, Dean's arm around Grace's waist.

The drive back to the motel was charged. Dean had his arm around Grace, and she was kissing his neck. Her hand was on his thigh, slowly getting higher. Dean was fighting the impulse to pull the car over and take her right there. The road wasn't exactly empty, and he'd already seen some people in passing cars staring at them.

They reached the motel a few minutes later. There were people walking about, so Grace walked in front of Dean to hide the obvious bulge in his pants. He gave her the key and kissed her neck as she opened the door.

Once they were inside, Dean pulled off his shirt and pants. Grace saw the look in his eyes and knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him, so she did the same. They almost collided into each other as they kissed and fell onto the bed. Their hands and lips were everywhere. Dean had just unclasped her bra when his phone rang. He laid his head against her shoulder and groaned.

"Son of a bitch."

He got up and fished his phone out of his pants pocket, checking the caller ID. It was Sam.

"Yeah?"

Sam hesitated, "Dude, why are you out of breath?"

"You really wanna know?"

"Uh... No, I guess I don't," Sam said.

"What's up?" Dean asked sitting on the edge of the bed."

"I have a theory on what you might be hunting. Is Grace with you?"

"She's right here."

"Put me on speaker."


	10. Chapter 10

"Okay," Dean said, "You're on speaker." He held the phone in front of him.

"Hey, Grace."

"Hey, Sam." Grace pulled her shirt back on and sat behind Dean, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Okay, so I looked into the knocking sounds, and I found something called a tommyknocker."

"Tommyknocker?" Dean asked. "Like the movie?" He ran his free hand along Grace's arm.

"Same name, but no... not like the movie. These are spirits, sort of like sprites or brownies. They have different names in different countries, but they're said to live in mines and make knocking sounds."

"And they cause cave-ins?" Grace asked.

"Depends on who you ask. A lot of the lure says they're friendly, and the knocking sound is them imitating the miners... maybe even warning them of a collapse. But there are certain kinds of knockers, one in particular called a kobold, that are nasty. They lure the minors deeper and cause accidents and cave-ins."

"Stevenson mentioned that he heard a woman's voice," Grace said, "and that it sounded like it was coming from further in the mine."

"Right," Sam said. "I checked into that, and there was a female inspector on the grounds that day. Just like Stevenson said. So, there's no way to know if that voice was her or something else."

"So this is definitely what we're after?" Dean asked.

"Well," Sam said, "that's the thing. There were so many collapses, so close together... that's still weird. Knockers aren't big in lore anymore, and to think that there are four different ones out there suddenly causing trouble..."

"Not likely," Dean said.

"Right. So I thought maybe it's one and it's attaching itself to people to get to the next mine. I started trying to make connections. The obvious one is the survivors who went into other mines."

"But," Grace said, "the survivor of the second collapse wasn't involved in the third."

"No, but that female inspector was. She was at the second collapse too. She was in the mine just minutes before it happened."

"So," Dean said, "the first survivor goes right back to work, and dies in the second collapse. No survivors, but the knocker attaches to the inspector, who goes to the third mine. Landry survives and ends up in the next mine collapse."

"And now," Grace said, "the survivor of that collapse is about to go back to work. That makes sense. The mine he ends up in will collapse if the knocker attached to him."

"Yeah, but here's the thing," Sam said, "there is nothing in knocker lore that says they attach to people or move from mine to mine. At least, not that I can find."

"So, where does that leave us?" Dean asked. His hand grazed over Grace's and he felt the ring on her finger. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

"I don't know," Sam said. "If you ignore the lack of attachment lore, the tommyknocker is the best fit here."

"Well, we can't ignore it," Dean said, "but let's say it is a knocker. How do we kill it?"

"I haven't figured that out yet. I'll keep looking."

"How's the leg, Sam?" Grace asked as she ran her right hand up and down Dean's thigh.

"Doin' okay. Can't wait to get this cast off."

"You have any idea which mine Porter is coming to?" Dean asked.

"No... You'll have to wait til he gets there to find out. I did find out where he'll be staying. I'll text you the address, along with his arrival information."

"Awesome." Dean put the phone down on the night stand and laid back against the headboard, pulling Grace with him. She laid on top of him and he held her face in his hands, kissing her deeply.

"Alright," Sam said, "you should have that now. Bobby should be back tomorrow. I'll see what he knows about knockers."

Dean pulled his lips away from Grace long enough to say, "Sounds good."

There was silence for a moment before Sam finally asked, "Are you two making out with me on the phone?"

Grace froze, but neither she nor Dean answered and that was answer enough for Sam.

"Damn it, Dean! That's just wrong, man. I'll call you back if I find out more."

Sam disconnected and Dean smiled up at Grace. "Where were we?"

Grace sat up and pulled her shirt off again. She ran her hands down his chest, staring at the ring he gave her as it moved loosely on her finger. She took it off and lifted Dean's left hand, putting it on his ring finger.

"Hold on to that for me... I don't wanna lose it."

"Lose it? What kind of wild night did you have in mind?" Dean grinned.

"The kind we were having before your phone rang."

She threw her bra across the room and practically attacked Dean's neck with her mouth. It didn't take long for them to reach the frantic state they were in before. Dean flipped them over and hovered over her.

"My beautiful... sexy... woman..." he said between kisses. "Tell me you're all mine," he said staring into her eyes. Grace's breath caught. The look in his eyes, the huskiness in his voice, his hand on her breast... it all sent shivers through her entire body. She felt like she was about to lose control.

"I'm all yours... take me."

"Not yet." He kissed down her body, removing her panties as he went. Once they were off, he stood and removed his boxers. He kissed his way back up to her mouth, driving her crazy.

"Now?"

"Not yet."

His strong hand was on her thigh, squeezing and rubbing. He lifted her leg and wrapped it around his waist. He shifted his weight and did the same with her other leg. He slightly dipped his hips so that their bodies made contact, and Grace let out a gasp.

"Baby, please."

Dean wasn't sure if he should tell her that he kind of liked hearing her beg for him. It almost seemed wrong, but he couldn't help it. He loved knowing he affected her this way.

"Please what?"

"Oh my... please... take me. Make love to me."

He thrust into her and she threw her head back, her whole body shaking. He waited for her body to calm before he started moving again. She dug her fingers into his back and her legs tightened around him.

When he finally laid on top of her, she ran her fingers through his hair. He went to roll onto his side, but she held on tight to him, not ready to lose the feeling of him on top of her. Eventually his arms got tired of him trying to hold his weight off of her, so he forcefully rolled them over. Grace landed on top of him and Dean held her there to make sure she knew he wanted her to stay. She stared down into his eyes.

"Tell me you're all mine," she said.

He smiled and ran his hand through her hair. "I'm all yours."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: thanks again for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! And remember, reviews are really great! Even if there's something you don't like, let me know. Constructive criticism is welcome. :)**

As Grace lay in bed, she started thinking about the case. She really didn't like that Sam couldn't find anything to show that a knocker could get from one mine to another. It just didn't fit. She wondered what information they could get from Porter once he got to town.

The wait was going to drive her crazy. She remembered Sam's text with Porter's arrival information, and decided to take a look at it. She carefully reached over Dean to get his phone from the night stand, trying not to wake him. He had just fallen asleep. As she leaned back against the headboard she heard him groan a little, but he didn't move.

Porter's flight wasn't arriving until after 3:00pm. That gave them a lot more time to kill. When she reached over Dean again to put his phone back, he woke up.

"What's goin' on?"

"Sorry, baby. Go back to sleep."

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. I was looking at the text Sam sent with Porter's info and I was just trying to put your phone back."

She started to turn away from him to lay on her side, but he grabbed her arm.

"Hey... come here." He pulled her close and she snuggled back into him. He put his arm over her and they slowly drifted off to sleep.

Grace woke up the next morning to the smell of food. She turned over to see Dean waving a to-go box next to her head.

"Do I smell bacon?"

"Yes, you do. I thought I'd surprise you with breakfast in bed. Not the best presentation, but you work with what you've got."

"This is so sweet," she said, smiling at him as she sat up, pulling the sheet with her.

"Don't let it get around... I've got a reputation to protect. I'll just deny it." He winked and gave her a kiss.

"Did you eat already?" she asked.

"Nope," he said lifting another box out of the bag. "I was hoping I could join you."

"Pull up a pillow."

Dean kicked off his shoes and sat on the bed next to Grace, leaning back against the headboard. As they ate, Grace told Dean what she was thinking about the case.

"We've got some time before Porter actually gets here. I was thinking it might be a good idea to see if we can find out which mine he's being transferred to so we can check it out beforehand... see how it's supposed to look and feel... and sound. We have the ID's, maybe we could go to his new company and ask questions."

"I'd think twice before doin' that. The real safety inspectors are probably all over the company right now."

Dean reached into Grace's box and she slapped his hand.

"Ow!"

"Hands off my bacon. How can we find out then?"

"I don't know... but I like the idea of checking it out before."

He tried again to grab a piece of her bacon, and she slapped him harder.

"Knock it off, Winchester!" she said loading her fork with a bite of egg and sausage.

"You should learn to share, Winchester."

Grace had just pulled the food from her fork and she nearly froze with it in her mouth. She slowly pulled the utensil from her lips, staring down at her food, trying to suppress the smile that was forming.

Dean noticed and smiled. "Oh, go ahead and get girly on me... I kinda like it."

"Did you just call me 'Winchester?'"

"That's what you'd be if we were legally married. And let's face it, you're an honorary Winchester anyway. You've been through some crap, you're strong, capable, feisty, stubborn, probably a little crazy..."

"Hey! This list is taking a downward turn."

"Welcome to the family, sweetheart," he smiled.

As Grace leaned in to kiss him, Dean made one more attempt to steal a piece of her bacon. He had it in his hand when she grabbed his wrist.

"I will shoot you," she said flatly.

"You're violent too."

"Uh huh... and what would you do if I tried to steal your pie?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, sweetheart, it would be the last thing you did."

"Exactly. Don't touch my bacon." She took it from him and bit into it. "Do you think Sam could hack the info?"

"He may not have to hack it. I'll talk to him and see if he can make some phone calls. Maybe Bobby can call as FBI or Homeland and ask some questions."

"That sounds good. But I'll need an ID for either of those, and I probably shouldn't use the same alias."

"Probably not... you can be..."

"Hang on. I don't wanna be Lita Ford or something like that, ok? I like Sabrina."

Dean nodded. "Sabrina's good."

"You can pick the last name."

"Smith."

They finished breakfast and Dean called Sam. While he was on the phone, Grace glanced around the room and saw that their clothes were still scattered from the night before. She spotted Dean's plaid button down shirt close by and held the sheet close to her as she leaned out of the bed to grab it. She held it up to her face, breathing in his scent, then put it on. Once her arms were in the shirt, she stood as she buttoned it.

Dean watched as she went around the room gathering their clothes. It didn't escape his attention that she was wearing his shirt... and nothing else. Though the shirt was long enough on her to cover all of her most important parts, even as she stooped to pick things up from the floor. Not that Dean would have minded if they weren't covered. He would have actually preferred if they weren't, but it was just another thing he loved about her... that she could still be so modest and shy. They had made love so many times, he had seen her beautiful body bared just for him, but she wouldn't walk around naked for no reason.

He was sitting at the small table by the window where she stopped to put down the pile of clothes she had collected. He eyed where the bottom of the shirt stopped, thinking of slipping his hand beneath the fabric, when she saw the look on his face.

"No, Dean... not with Sam on the phone. Not again."

Dean grinned at her and went back to his conversation. Grace grabbed a few things and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. When she came back out, Dean was off the phone, laying on the bed. His face fell a little when he saw her.

"Damn... you're dressed."

"Yeah, Dean. I'm not gonna walk around in your shirt all day."

"I had no objections," he smiled. "And that wasn't Sam I was talking to... it was Bobby. He said no way has Homeland made any connection to look ahead to another collapse. They're looking at the ones that have already happened. So, he's gonna call Porter's company as Homeland and request that they show his two agents around today, and give us access to the mine whenever we need it."

Grace couldn't help but smile. Bobby was such a con-man. "Do you think they'll go for it?"

"Let's hope. I gave Bobby our aliases, just in case."

"So, what do we tell them? Why is Homeland investigating their mine?"

"We tell them the truth... almost. We tell them about the connection with the survivors. Even with the one break in the pattern, it's enough of a connection to pass."

"This is where I'll regret not getting a pant suit and sensible shoes."

Dean just smiled at her.


	12. Chapter 12

A little over an hour later, Dean and Grace were laying on the bed watching tv. Dean's phone rang and he checked the ID. Bobby.

"You got an appointment at 1:00pm. They'll show you around and give you special credentials to come and go," Bobby said. "Ask for Mark Whitfield."

"Got it, Bobby. Thanks. Where's Sam?"

"Hang on."

Bobby handed the phone to Sam.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"You get anymore info on the knockers?"

"Still looking. Bobby doesn't know much about them either, let alone how to kill them. I'm beginning to think this is more legend than supernatural being."

"Well, if it's not a knocker, what are we dealing with?"

"You suggested a demon when this first started."

"Stevenson said there were no odd smells."

"Maybe sulphur isn't an odd smell in a mine."

"Good point. Alright. I'll let you know when we head out."

Dean disconnected the call and stood up. "We're in," he told Grace, putting on his jacket. "I have to go a few towns over to make your Homeland ID. Stay here... don't leave the room, ok?"

"You holding me hostage?"

"I talked to Sam. This knocker thing is looking less and less likely, and if it's a demon... they don't need to attach themselves to someone. It could already be here. We need to be extra careful."

Grace nodded. Dean grabbed his keys, then leaned over to kiss Grace.

"I'll be back."

"Love you."

"Love you."

When Dean got back to the motel a couple hours later, Grace was already getting dressed. She was in front of the mirror putting on her makeup. Dean walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. She leaned her head back against his shoulder and sighed. He looked at her reflection in the mirror, reached into his pocket, and pulled out her new Homeland Security ID.

"Ms. Sabrina Smith."

She took it and grinned. "Should I be proud that the man I love is an expert at making fake federal ID's?"

"I think so." He kissed her neck one more time, letting it linger before he let her go. "I'm gonna go get ready, then we'll grab lunch before we head over."

They made it to the appointment fifteen minutes early and waited for Mark Whitfield. When Mark emerged from his office, Dean stood and extended his hand, introducing himself and "Sabrina."

"Well, if you're ready we can head right out. Would you like to ride with me or follow in your car?"

"We'll follow, thanks," Dean said.

Mark nodded and started to walk toward the door when he noticed Grace's heels.

"Those may not be the best shoes for where we're going."

Grace wanted to shoot Dean an annoyed look, but she had to be professional. "I have a pair of sneakers in the trunk."

"Good."

Grace changed shoes in the car on the way to the mine. Once they were there, Mark introduced them to some of the staff and the guards.

"We've upped security with all the collapses. If it is some sort of sabotage we don't want to take any chances. We've got cameras and guards all around the perimeter. If anyone gets in that shouldn't be here, we'll see it."

He took them into the mines, handing them both hard hats with lights on them.

"Regulation," he said.

He showed them around, explaining a bit about how things worked and what was being done as they walked through. Dean finally spoke up.

"We'd like to be here tomorrow when you show Porter around. We have some questions for him, and I'd like to walk through again."

"No problem. I'm actually taking him around after hours. His flight comes in a bit late, and I didn't want to interrupt the shut down."

"Not a problem. Here's my card. Please give me call once you have a time and we'll be here."

"Sure thing. I'll walk you back out. Do you need me to drive back with you?"

"No, I can get us back. Thanks."

Once they were back at the motel, Grace realized how dirty she was. Her skirt was covered in dust, as was her face. She had noticed it first on Dean in the car... little streaks of dirt where sweat had mixed with the dust on his face and neck. Now she saw she was in the same condition.

"We have to have these suits cleaned," Grace said. "They can't stay like this. We need to do some laundry, too."

"We need to clean up first. You go shower. I'll call Bobby and let him know how it went. Then I'll shower and we can find a laundromat."

"Okay... don't sit on the bed though."

Once they were both showered, they dropped the suits off at a dry cleaners, picked up fast food, and headed to a laundromat. The place was empty by the time they got the machines loaded. They sat on a bench, waiting for their clothes. Dean had his arm stretched out across the back, around Grace, whose head was resting on his shoulder. She found herself dozing off, which she didn't want to do, so she started singing quietly to herself.

"Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move, gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove." Dean smiled when he realized she was singing Zeppelin. "Oh, oh, child, said the way you swing, gonna make you burn, gonna make you sting." When she paused, the next lines ran through Dean's head. He decided he should sing those to Grace. He put his mouth next to her ear and sang low and deep.

"Hey, hey, baby, when you walk that way, watch your honey drip, I can't keep away."

Grace bit her bottom lip and smiled. Dean skipped ahead to the last line of the song. "Need a woman gonna hold my hand, won't tell me no lies, make me a happy man."

"Is that what you need?" she asked looking up at him.

"That's what I've got."

He kissed her and the buzzer on the machine went off.

"Is it just me," he said, "or does it seem like something is always interrupting us?"

Grace laughed and got up to pull the clothes out. Dean helped her fold, and they were soon on their way back to the motel.

"I'm gonna take another shower," Grace said. "I feel like I still have that dust in my hair." She grabbed a few things and went into the bathroom. Dean decided to call Sam while she was in there.

"Hey. We're back at the motel for the night."

"Okay. How's it goin' with you two?"

"Everything's great, man. In fact... I wanna thank you."

"For what?"

"For pushing me to bring Grace. It's given us some real time alone when we're not working."

"You're welcome. I'm just glad everything is goin' well."

"Couldn't be better. We had a few moments that were, uh..." Dean hesitated. How could he tell his brother about the "marriage" and the ring without sounding like a woman?

"That were, what?" Sam asked.

"I don't know... Bottom line? She makes me happy, Sammy. Very happy."

"I'm glad, Dean. You deserve to be happy... even though you don't always think you do."

Dean heard the shower stop running. "Grace is getting out of the shower, so I'm gonna go. Call us if you get any news."

"Sure thing."

Dean hung up and stripped down to his boxers. He climbed under the covers and waited for Grace. When she came out of the bathroom she was wearing one of Dean's shirts again, making him smile.

"What's this?"

She walked over to the bed and climbed in, snuggling close to Dean. "You seemed really disappointed earlier when I got dressed, so I thought I'd make it up to you by wearing one of your shirts to bed."

Dean's hand disappeared beneath the sheet and found Grace's thigh. He slowly moved his hand up, under the bottom of the shirt, the way he wanted to do earlier. She watched his eyes get a little wider when his hand reached her hip and found it bare.

"Damn, baby, are you trying to kill me?"

"And miss having those hands on my body? No way."

Dean couldn't help but wonder... if she wasn't wearing panties...? He started to unbutton the shirt. The look on her face gave the answer away, but he kept undoing the buttons until he could open the shirt enough to see that she was not wearing a bra.

"So you're just trying to drive me crazy, then?"

She just smiled at him as he gently pushed her to lay flat on her back, throwing the sheets down to the foot of the bed. He lay next to her on his side, leaning on his elbow. He finished unbuttoning the shirt and pulled it open, exposing her body. He let his eyes wander over her without touching her. Grace was getting a little self conscious under his intense gaze.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Trying to decide where I wanna taste you first."

Grace's eyes closed, and she felt warmth spread through her entire body. She shivered in anticipation before his mouth finally made contact with his choice. A place his lips had never been before. Her back arched and she moaned loudly. He kissed his way up to her breasts, as she writhed beneath him. Her hands were in her hair as she fought to keep control. She had no idea one simple kiss in that spot could drive her so crazy. Now she wondered why he'd never done it before, and she wanted to return the favor, but he didn't give her a chance. His lips moved to her neck and he began to make love to her.

She didn't come down from her high until they were done. Dean reached to the foot of the bed to pull the sheet back up. The shirt she wore was still open, and Dean held her body against his as he kissed her. They fell asleep that night in a tangle of sheets and limbs, kissing lazily until sleep overtook them.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This chapter is pure Dean/Grace filler. Thanks again for the reviews, favorites, and follows. Please remember to review. I love the feedback.**

Grace woke up the next morning to find Dean practically laying on top of her. She was on her back. His leg was over hers. Half of his body was on top of her, with his arm thrown over her, bent so that his hand was resting on her shoulder. His face was buried in her neck, and she could feel his deep, steady breathing. She wasn't sure how they ended up this way. Dean didn't usually move too much as he slept. But it didn't matter. She could wake up like this every morning. She loved to feel the weight of him, and the firmness of his body. Times like this, when she had a moment alone with her thoughts, she marveled at the fact that he was hers.

She reached up and ran her hand through his hair, and he sighed in his sleep. Grace smiled and closed her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to make Dean happy, and this, she thought, was probably the most content she had ever seen him.

She grabbed her phone from the bedside table to check the time. 9:32 am. Porter's flight didn't arrive until after 3:00, and they still had to wait for the call from Mark Whitfield to head back to the mine.

She made the not-so-difficult decision to stay wrapped up in Dean's body. Whether she dozed off again or not, she would stay there until Dean woke up on his own. That happened about half an hour later. She felt him shift a few times before he lifted his hand to rub his eyes, his fingers grazing her face accidentally as they passed her. His hand returned to her shoulder, and his face to her neck, and she thought he was asleep again until she felt his eyelashes against her skin as he blinked.

"Good morning," she said. She began to run her fingers through his hair again.

"'Morning." His voice was still deep and husky with sleep.

"Not that I'm complaining, but... any ideas how you ended up on top of me this way?"

Dean smirked and went to move away a bit when Grace grabbed him and pulled him back.

"I said I'm not complaining. Stay."

"You rolled away from me last night while I happened to be awake. I didn't like it. I figured the best way to keep you next to me was to pin you down."

"So, this body placement was deliberate... Your leg, your arm, your hand on my shoulder."

Dean nodded, "Every inch of it." He softly kissed her neck, and she let out a sigh.

"How many more days do you think we'll have on this job?" she asked.

Dean shrugged, "Two... maybe three? I don't know, really. Depends on what we can find out today. Why?"

She didn't answer right away, so Dean rose up onto his elbow to look at her. He lifted his eyebrow to silently ask the question again.

"This is gonna sound so selfish... but, I've really been enjoying our time alone."

"Me too."

"I just keep thinking that we'll be going back to you leaving me at Bobby's while you go off on a job."

"Well, I don't think that will happen as often. Sam won't mind you taggin' along."

"You really want me to go with you?"

"I always wanted you to go with me... I was just trying to protect you."

"I know."

"You're right, though. There will be times when you have to stay behind... for whatever reason."

"I thought I missed you before when you were gone. After these few days having you all to myself, I don't know if I'll be able to take it."

A wicked grin flashed across Dean's face. "I have an idea."

He turned over, grabbing his phone. He pressed a few buttons, then placed it on the night stand at just the right angle. He then reached over Grace, grabbing her phone and doing the same thing. He rolled onto her, holding his weight up on his elbows.

"Smile for the cameras."

She looked over at their phones with wide eyes.

"I am not having sex with you to record on our phones! What if we lose them... or Sam or Bobby find one?"

"Not sex," he said kissing her lips, "just... make out with me."

"Dean..."

"Come on," he said with a smile. "Don't you wanna see what it looks like to kiss me? I wanna see what it looks like to kiss you. And we'll have something to help when we're apart."

This man still surprised her sometimes with his romantic ways. Grace lifted her head up and kissed him. He never kissed any lower than her neck, but he made sure it was passionate and lingering. It didn't take long for her to forget the phones completely, and she kissed him back with the same passion.

After a few minutes, Dean stopped the videos and laid their phones down.

"See... just a little reminder of us." He kissed Grace once more. "You hungry?"

Grace nodded and Dean rolled out of bed.

"Donuts and coffee?" he asked.

"That's fine."

Dean got dressed and went for the donuts. Grace's curiosity got the best of her. She grabbed her phone and found the video they just made. She smiled and shook her head as she pressed play. It was weird to watch herself this way, but she had to admit that she was getting turned on. She stared at Dean's lips as he kissed her, something she couldn't do while the kissing was going on. She could almost feel them again as she watched, and she suddenly wished Dean was back. And then he looked at the camera and winked, lifting his eyebrows slightly as he returned his lips to her neck. It sent a flutter through her stomach.

She turned the video off and got up to get dressed. As much as that video made her want Dean, they had no idea when Mark would be calling and she did not want to be interrupted. She would rather just not start at all. Plus, she really was hungry.

When Dean got back with breakfast Grace was sitting at the table watching tv. He sat the box of donuts down and handed Grace her coffee. They divvied up the napkins and dug in. As they ate, Grace couldn't help staring at Dean's lips. She loved them before, but now she found them absolutely fascinating. Dean noticed that she was staring and smiled.

"What are you staring at?"

Her eyes quickly darted up to his. "What?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You watched the video, didn't you?"

Grace felt herself blush, and Dean started laughing.

"You sneak. I wanted to watch it together when the job is over."

"Well, you didn't say anything... and I was curious."

Dean took a bite of his donut. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"How was it?" he asked with a grin as he continued to chew.

Grace looked at her donut, picking at it before she smiled and looked him in the eyes.

"Baby... we are hot."

"Yeah, we are!" Dean said with a huge grin.

He took another bite of his donut, and some of the apple filling landed on his face. Grace pointed it out and he tried to lick it off, but he couldn't get it. Grace reached over and scooped it up with her finger. Before she could move her hand away from his face, Dean grabbed it and brought her apple filling-covered finger into his mouth. She stopped breathing when she felt his tongue, then watched as he removed her finger with those fascinating lips still wrapped around it. His eyes never left hers, but her eyes never left his lips.

Grace knew it was going to be a long day waiting for that phone call. Especially if Dean kept doing things like this.

"Why don't we act like tourists today? We can get out of the room... see what this town has to offer."

"If that's what you wanna do. We just have to remember we're Homeland Security agents to these people. Think you can keep your eyes in their sockets when you look at me?"

Grace playfully kicked his foot under the table. "Think you can keep your hands to yourself?"

"I love a challenge, sweetheart."

"Well, then, bring it on."


	14. Chapter 14

Dean and Grace managed to keep a respectable distance from each other as they went around town taking in the sights. They had to be sure no one who knew them as Homeland spotted them and had any doubts that they did indeed belong to the organization. To anyone looking on, they looked like partners, maybe even close enough to be friends outside of the job, but no one would have suspected a romantic connection. To anyone they hadn't met as Homeland, they just looked like tourists.

Grace did find it hard, though. She had an image of walking down the sidewalk, past the small shops, holding Dean's hand. Or maybe leaning her head against him as he held his arm around her. She chased the thoughts away by thinking of the case. No one else could die in the mines because of this thing.

Dean was just feeling grateful that she wasn't dragging him into every store on the street. Another thing he loved about her... she didn't enjoy the typical girly things like shopping and clothes and jewelry. Though, not really a tomboy, either. She was a nice balance, somewhere in the middle of the two. The one store she begged him to go in, then spent over an hour inside, was an antique bookstore. He browsed around for a few minutes, then thought she would be ready to go. She wasn't. Dean found a chair and finally had to threaten, quietly, to withhold his lips if she didn't leave. It was a bogus threat, of course. That would be just as much punishment for him as it would be for her. But she got the idea that he was bored and ready to leave, so she made a purchase and they left.

It was around 3:30 when they got the call from Mark Whitfield. He set up a walkthrough of the mine with Evan Porter at 5:30.

"Do you remember how to get to the mine?" Whitfield asked.

"Yes, I do," Dean said.

"Good. I've been out here all day today. I have one of my guys at the office bringing Porter over, so if you could just meet us here it would be helpful."

"Absolutely. We'll be there for 5:30."

Dean disconnected the call and looked at Grace, "Just enough time to grab a bite to eat and head over. I think we should stay in our jeans."

Grace breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you! No skirt. No heels."

They arrived at the mine roughly the same time as Porter. They tagged along as Mark showed him around. Dean was paying attention to the environment, looking for anything that seemed different from their last visit now that Porter was there.

When the tour was over they stepped back outside and Dean asked Porter questions similar to what he asked Stevenson. Porter gave similar answers. Knocking sounds. No other weird noises or odd smells.

"How was it that you were outside of the mine when it collapsed?" Dean asked. "You had just walked out, is that right?"

"Yes, it is," Porter answered. "I saw something running around inside the mine. It was small. I thought a stray animal wandered in. I didn't get a really good look at it, but I saw it enough to follow it. Eventually it headed toward the entrance, but I wanted to make sure it got out, so I still followed it. I lost track of it, so I figured I'd go outside to see if I could see it anywhere... that's when it collapsed. I had literally just stepped out. The force of the rocks falling behind me knocked me down."

"Did anyone else see what you were following?"

"Honestly... I don't know. I didn't mention it to anyone else. I just started following it. It happens sometimes... a stray animal will wander in. Especially cats. We just try to get them out so they don't get hurt, or cause any of our people to get hurt."

Dean and Grace hung around until Mark and Porter left. Dean was really anxious over leaving the two there alone. Once they were back on their way to the motel, they were discussing the fact that nothing seemed different, even with Porter there. Dean called Sam to fill him in.

"We're gonna go back tonight and really look around. Maybe we'll be able to hear the knocking or something."

"Dean," Sam said, "I still don't have anything on how to kill a knocker. You think it's a good idea to go after the thing now?"

"We're not really going after it, just checking it out."

"And what happens if it's there... What if it comes after you?"

"Then you'd better remember our midnight agreement."

"Dean..."

"Sam, more people are gonna die if we don't figure this out."

"You two just be careful."

"We will. I got the coordinates of the mine while we were out there. I'll text them to you. We're gonna head back to the mine at 9:00. I'm not gonna call unless our plans change."

"Dean, you'd better call me at midnight, dude."

"I will, Sammy."

They disconnected the call and Dean glanced at Grace.

"Still no info on killing the knockers. We have to pack a lot of stuff just in case."

"How are we gonna get it in? You think the guards will let us in with bags?"

"I noticed a hole in their security. They've got guards covering any spots the cameras can't see... except for one spot. We can go there and climb over the fence with our bags."

Grace raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure about this?"

Dean grinned at her, "Sweetheart, how many places have I broken into in my life?"

Grace shook her head. "Baby, you walk a fine line between hero and criminal."

Dean let out a chuckle and reached across the seat to grab Grace's hand.

"Women love that misunderstood bad boy thing, right?"

"I know I do... at least one bad boy in particular."

Back at the motel, Grace stood watch at the trunk while Dean packed anything he thought they might possibly need. Once they were set, they went back inside the room and waited.

They parked about half a mile from the mine, grabbed the bags out of the trunk, and sneaked over to the area of the fence that wasn't covered by guards or cameras. Dean helped Grace climb up, then tossed the bags over before climbing over himself. They made their way into the mine. Once inside, Dean knelt down, placing his bags on the ground and looking through one. He pulled out salt and handed it to Grace, who made a large circle. While she was doing that, Dean pulled out a can of spray paint and made a large devil's trap. He was really starting to doubt the knocker theory, and he wanted to be prepared for anything.

Grace tucked two guns into her waistband. One with iron rounds, one with silver. Dean had salt rounds and regular bullets. While they were waiting at the motel, Sam had called with a couple of incantations that might help draw out whatever was causing the collapses. They were pretty general spells, and there was no guarantee they would work, especially if it was a knocker. Dean set up for the incantation then looked at Grace.

"You ready?"


	15. Chapter 15

Dean had Grace stay inside the salt circle while he recited the incantation. Just as he finished, a strong wind picked up. Grace stared at the salt circle, afraid that the wind would blow it away. Dean stepped inside with her, putting his arm around her waist. The wind died down just as quickly as it came up. They looked around, but didn't see anything odd.

"Do you think the wind was a coincidence?" Grace asked.

"No way. We were in here two different times, and I never felt a wind come through like that."

Grace looked down one of the tunnels and saw a shadow. She moved a little closer, making sure to stay inside the salt circle. Dean turned, keeping his hand on her back.

"You see somethin'?"

"Maybe..."

Dean followed her eyes and stared down the tunnel.

"What the hell is that?" he said, mostly to himself.

There was another gust of wind, and the shadow was suddenly in front of them, just outside the salt circle. Only it wasn't a shadow.

"That's no knocker," Dean said. "That's a spirit."

It smiled wickedly at Dean. It's face was pale and bruised. It wore a mining hat, but it was cracked. When it suddenly disappeared, Dean spun around to make sure it wasn't coming up from behind.

"This is good," Dean said. "We know how to handle a spirit."

"Once we figure out who the spirit was."

"Grab the bags. Let's get out of here."

Just as they stepped out of the circle, Grace heard knocking. She grabbed Dean's arm and stopped.

"Do you hear that?"

Dean listened, taking a step forward. He looked up and saw a light dust falling from just above their heads, and a few yards ahead too.

"Son-of-a-bitch!"

He grabbed Grace's hand and pulled her back toward the tunnel just as the rocks began to fall. He pushed Grace forward. She found a crevice in the wall and turned into it. Dean followed and covered her with his body, shielding her from the falling rocks.

When the noise stopped, Dean slowly stepped out. He looked toward the entrance and saw nothing but a big wall of rocks. Grace stepped out and saw the wall blocking their way out. She grabbed Dean's arm and he turned back to her.

"You okay?" he asked. He grabbed her face and moved her hair back.

"Yeah..." She forced herself to look away from the large rock wall. When her eyes landed on Dean she gasped.

"Your cheek!" she said, reaching out to his face.

Dean blindly touched it and winced. It stung, and his fingers came away bloody.

"I'm okay. Let's make another salt circle. We still have that spirit in here."

Dean made a large salt circle while Grace dug through one of the bags for a first aid kit. She made the guys start packing them in their duffels for emergencies, instead of depending on the motel kit, or leaving one in the car. They sat cross-legged in the middle of the circle, and Grace cleaned and bandaged Dean's cut while he tried to come up with a plan. They checked their phones, but had no reception, just as they expected.

"Dean... what's to stop that thing from causing another collapse?"

"I don't know. I guess it could. I'm hoping that it took too much out of it to go again. Causing that big of a collapse... I would think that takes a lot of energy. Hopefully it's wiped out."

"So, what do we do?"

"Well, the good news is Sam knows where we are and he's got orders to get out here if he doesn't hear from me by midnight."

Grace looked at her watch. It was a little after 11:00.

"We could still be down here for hours," she said. "Even if it is wiped out now, it could gain strength again."

"Give me a few minutes... I'll think of something."

They sat quietly for a long time. Grace couldn't think of anything other than the fact that they were trapped in a mine, and she knew that anything she said wouldn't be helpful. Dean kept running the situation through his head, trying to remember the information they learned in their walk throughs. He was hoping he would remember something that could help them.

Dean had shifted positions and was sitting with his legs straight out. Grace was laying on her back, her knees bent, using Dean's thigh as a pillow. She had her eyes closed. Dean ran a hand through her hair.

"You doin' okay?"

"Trying not to think about it."

"Having any luck with that?"

"Not really."

Grace sat up and turned toward Dean. "This might be a good time to tell you..."

"Tell me what?"

"I have a little trouble in close spaces."

"What, like claustrophobia?"

"Yeah."

"Have you always had it?"

"No... I think it developed after being trapped in my own body for several months."

Dean nodded. It had been a long time since Grace's possession had been brought up.

"You never said anything about it," Dean said.

"I didn't think it was that bad. I noticed it a few times in the car on really long trips. A few times it hit me in the shower... but it passed pretty quick. Maybe because I knew I wasn't trapped, you know? I just had to open the car door, or roll down a window. But this?"

"You look like you're holding it together."

"Looks can be deceiving."

"You're gonna be fine," Dean said, wrapping his arms around her. "Baby, you're shaking."

"I know." Her voice cracked. Having Dean acknowledge what she was going through just made it more real. The shaking got worse.

Dean stood and pulled Grace to her feet. He kissed her and held her tight.

"We're not stuck here, you know." He checked his watch. It was 1:14. "Sam's gonna be here soon and we'll be out."

Grace didn't say anything. She clutched the front of Dean's shirt and buried her face in his chest. He began to rock her back and forth, resting his cheek on her head. After a few minutes he remembered something she told him one night and he smiled.

"Hey, babe?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember that thing you said we never did, that I said was never gonna happen?"

She didn't answer. He didn't know if she was just too upset, or if she was trying to remember.

"Looks like I was wrong," he said. "We're practically dancing."

Grace let out a nervous chuckle. She let go of Dean's shirt and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Grace closed her eyes and began to hum. Her shaking didn't stop, but it wasn't as bad. Dean grabbed one of her hands, lacing his fingers with hers and bringing her hand to rest on his chest as they swayed back and forth. When he recognized the song she was humming he smiled and started to hum along.

It was little things like this that made Grace happy. Music always kept her calm and focused. It was a big part of Dean's life too. Dean loved his classic rock, and, though she had always liked it, being around him had made her really love it too. She found she listened to it more than ever. It was a connection to Dean... a way for them to be closer. It created moments like this.

Grace got the urge to sing the lyrics. Her voice was soft, barely singing, as Dean continued to hum.

"And so today, my world it smiles. Your hand in mine, we walk the miles. Thanks to you it will be done. For you to me are the only one. Happiness, no more be sad. Happiness... I'm glad. If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me."

Dean kept humming even after Grace stopped singing. They still swayed back and forth. Grace opened her eyes just in time to see down the tunnel. She stopped and lifted her head. Dean looked down at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you see that?"

Dean looked and saw what she was talking about. Something was peeking at them from around a rock wall.

"That's not the spirit," Grace said.

"No, it's not."

"What is it?"

"I have no idea."


	16. Chapter 16

Dean and Grace continued to stare at whatever this new thing was. Dean slowly backed toward his bag.

"Don't take your eyes off of it," he told Grace. "I'm gonna grab my flashlight."

"Ok."

Dean left the flashlight off and got it into just the right position to see what was looking at them.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

He clicked the flashlight on, and it was gone before they could see anything.

"Damn it! Where did it go?"

"Turn the light off."

Dean turned it off, and they saw it slowly peeking around the rock again.

"Dean... is it waving at us?"

As Grace spoke, it dashed across to the other side of the tunnel, a bit farther away. It disappeared for just a moment, then was peeking at them again. Dean picked up his bags and motioned for Grace to do the same.

"We're gonna follow it."

"We don't know what it is!"

"I have an idea."

"You wanna share?"

"I think that might be a knocker."

Grace looked shocked. She hadn't even considered that it could be a knocker. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. Don't you remember... Sam said most of the lore is that they're good and helpful. They warn miners about cave-ins. We know the spirit caused that collapse, but we heard knocking right before it happened. It's what stopped us from going on... which would have gotten us killed."

Dean realized that they had both taken their eyes off of the thing. He quickly turned, expecting not to see it anymore, but it was still there.

"I think it's trying to help us. We should follow it."

"What if the spirit comes back?"

"We'll make a new circle."

Dean could see how worried she was. He grabbed her shoulders and bent slightly so their eyes were level.

"Hey... you know I'm not gonna put you in any situation I think will get you hurt."

"I know," she smiled. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Let's go."

They took a few steps forward. As they got closer, the creature moved further down the mine, staying close to the walls. It stayed in the shadows as Dean used his flashlight, so they couldn't get a really good look at it. Grace remembered what Porter said about thinking a stray animal was in the mine. She could see making that mistake. It moved quick like an animal, but its eyes... what she could see of them, anyway... had a little more of a human-like quality.

After walking for several minutes, the creature disappeared. Dean searched all over with the flashlight, but they couldn't see it anymore.

"Great," he said. "Now we're just deeper in the mine."

Dean continued to scan the area with the flashlight, and Grace caught a glimpse of something close to the wall, above their heads.

"Dean... shine that back over here."

He pointed the beam of light at her, and she motioned upward.

"You're kidding me... It's an air shaft." Dean pointed the flashlight up the vent. He could see the top of it from where they were, and it looked like there were handles inside. He looked at Grace.

"You may not like my plan."

She looked down from the shaft at Dean with a questioning look.

"I'm gonna lift you up. You grab hold of those handles and pull yourself into the shaft. Climb out and go for help."

"You're right, I don't like it."

"You're gonna have to fight through being in a tight space."

"It's not just that. I don't wanna leave you down here alone. What if that spirit comes back, or causes another cave-in?"

"I'll be fine. I'll still have my bags. You can take yours to make sure you're covered."

"I don't like it."

"Would you rather sit here and wait?"

Grace had a look of frustration on her face. "No."

"Then you go up the shaft."

"Fine."

Grace secured her bag over her shoulder, moving it around toward her back to make climbing out a little easier. Dean stood on front of her.

"Make your way to the spot we came in. Climb back over the fence and run until you get a signal on your cell. Tell Sam to get his ass here, ASAP."

Grace nodded. Dean kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned it, not wanting to let go. He gently pulled her arms from around his neck and broke the kiss.

"You have to let Sam know about the air shaft. You'll have to figure out a way I pull me out. I can't get up there alone. So, don't forget where it's at."

"I won't."

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

Dean bent down and she put one of her feet in his hands, bracing herself against the wall.

"1-2-3!"

He hoisted her up and she was able to grab one of the handles inside the shaft. As she pulled herself up, Dean continued to push her from beneath, until he could no longer reach her. He pointed the flashlight up so she could see, and so he could watch her until she was out. He didn't like the idea anymore than she did, but he didn't see another option. Sure, they could wait for Sam, but they couldn't even be sure Sam was on his way. Let alone that he would find them soon enough.

When Grace finally reached the top of the air shaft she found herself in a small shed-like building. She took the opportunity to pull out her flashlight and cell phone. Just before she turned to leave she looked back down the shaft. She couldn't see Dean. She figured he had turned off his flashlight to conserve the battery.

Once she was outside, she took in her surroundings. She was a good distance front the entrance of the mine. She figured that would be the best place to go to make her way back to the fence.

She was soon making her way through a dense wooded area. She kept her phone out, eyes on the screen, waiting for a reception bar. It felt like she had been walking forever when suddenly, two bars appeared and disappeared just as quickly. Grace froze, then backtracked, trying to find the bars again. After turning in circles a few times, she got them back. She called Sam and he answered halfway through the second ring.

"Grace?"

"Thank God! Sam, where are you?"

"Hopefully headed your way. We passed Dean's car a ways back. We just came a little closer since I'm still on crutches."

"We? Is Bobby with you?"

"Yeah."

Grace closed her eyes and sighed. Good news, for a change.

"Where are you now?" Grace asked.

"I'm following the coordinates Dean sent me. We're about to turn into the woods."

"You may lose cell reception. I'll make my way to you on the road. You keep following the coordinates. We should meet up. Then I'll fill you in."

As soon as Grace took a few steps the call was dropped, but she quickly made her way to Sam and Bobby, almost knocking Sam off of his crutches when she hugged him.

It was a little slow-going getting back to the mine with Sam on his crutches. The fence in particular was a challenge. Thankfully Sam was a bit of a fitness freak and he was able to climb over using his upper body strength. It took Bobby some time to get over as well. She retraced her steps back to the entrance, and from there led them back to the air shaft.

Inside the shed, she leaned over the shaft and yelled, "Dean!"

A moment later, his flashlight was shining up at her.

"Sam and Bobby are here. You okay?"

"I'll be better when I'm not trapped in a mine anymore."

Grace smiled. Sam came up behind her with a long length of rope and called down the shaft.

"We're gonna send down a rope. Tie yourself in and we'll pull you up into the shaft."

Sam tied the rope around a sturdy pipe that ran into the ground. Once Dean gave the okay, they all pulled until Dean could grab on to the handles inside the shaft. He was soon out. He patted his brother on the back.

"I'm sure glad you keep your promises, man."

Grace picked up her bag and moved toward the door.

"Can we get out of here, please. We've got some research to do."


	17. Chapter 17

They all walked back to Bobby's rental car. He offered to drive Dean and Grace to the Impala, which was still a bit further down the road, but they wanted to walk. The fresh air was a welcomed treat after being stuck in a mine all night. Dean gave Bobby the information of their motel so he and Sam could go get a room. He called them when they were close to get their room number and they went straight there when they arrived at the motel. Sam was logging onto his laptop.

"So, this was a spirit," Sam said.

"That's right," Dean said. "An angry spirit. Vengeful, even."

They all went over the details again. Sam and Grace started to speak at the same time. They both stopped, but Sam motioned to her.

"It's your case."

She smiled at him and continued. "We need to look at the history of the first mine that collapsed. The spirit we saw was wearing a miner's hat. I'd be willing to bet he worked in that first mine. Probably died in it."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Sam said. He went to work on his laptop while Grace looked over his shoulder. Bobby stood and headed toward the bathroom.

"I'ma hit the shower. Trekkin' through the woods don't exactly leave ya feelin' fresh."

Dean thought about being trapped in that mine all night. He could probably use a shower too.

"I think I'll hit the shower too," Dean said heading toward the door. He looked back at Sam and Grace. They never even looked up. "You two got this for a few minutes?"

Sam nodded and Grace slightly waved her hand at Dean, as if to say, "sure, go." Still, neither of them looked up. Dean shook his head and walked out, back to his room.

When Dean got back to Sam and Bobby's room, Sam was still on his laptop. Bobby was already snoring. Grace was curled up on Sam's bed, asleep. Sam looked up and saw Dean staring at her.

"She was exhausted," Sam said. "I told her she could lay down and she passed right out. Even with Bobby snoring."

"You find anything?" Dean asked quietly.

Sam turned his laptop toward Dean. As Dean walked toward it, the picture on the screen came into focus.

"That's the spirit we saw," Dean said.

"That first mine... there was a collapse in it twenty-two years ago. Only one person got out alive."

"Not this guy?"

"No... not this guy. His name was Ryan Lawson. Turns out, he made several complaints about safety conditions in that mine. His supervisor pretty much ignored him because no one else was complaining. A little over a month later..."

"Collapse."

"Right."

"Twenty-two years ago, that's a long time for a vengeful spirit to wait."

"It sorta had to. The mine was shut down. There were a lot of investigations, especially when it came out that there had been complaints by a worker. The mine was completely closed... until two years ago."

Dean nodded. "Okay, so, workers start coming in... the ghost relives the events? Maybe gets angry that the mine was reopened?"

"Maybe. Two years seems to be a fair amount of time for it to turn vengeful. Though it's not quite vengeful. It's not killing supervisors. It's killing miners. These are the guys who were on his level. I think it's just an angry spirit. A very, very angry spirit."

"Okay. So, salt and burn. Where's the body?"

"Found an old obit. Got the cemetery name. Haven't had a chance to get the address yet."

"That's easy enough. Where was the first mine located, again?"

"Wyoming."

"Awesome. Not too far. That's a good thing considering we'll all be sharing a car."

Sam closed his laptop and ran his hands over his face. He looked at his bed, Grace still asleep on top.

"You wanna leave her there?" Sam asked. "I can bunk in your room."

"No. She'll be upset if I don't wake her up to shower. She showered twice the day we just did a walk through. After being in there all night after a cave-in? I'm surprised she didn't come with me when I took one. Well," he said shaking his head, "not really surprised. She gets so into the research part of this job."

Dean walked over to the bed and leaned down by Grace's ear.

"Grace... you gotta get up."

She didn't move, but Dean saw her take a deep breath and heard her sigh.

"Come on, sweetheart. Sam wants his bed back, and you need a shower before we get on the road."

He ran a hand down her back and she started to stir.

"Hmmm?"

Dean lifted Grace off of the bed.

"What are you doing?" she asked, as he headed toward the door.

"I just realized I didn't carry you over the threshold," he said jokingly.

That comment wasn't missed by Sam. He stared at them as Dean closed the door with his foot. His mind started questioning: would they get married and not tell him or Bobby? Would they get married while working a job? Would Dean get married... at all? He would wait it out, look for evidence. If they wanted to tell him, they would, but if they didn't and he began to suspect they really had gotten married, he would bring it up. Why would they keep it secret?

Dean carried Grace into their room. He sat her in the chair and began taking off her shoes. She was slowly waking up, but part of her was still back in the bed.

"I'm so tired."

"You'll feel better after a warm shower. I know I did."

"If I can stay awake for it."

Dean pulled her out of the chair and she reluctantly walked to the bathroom. An hour later she emerged feeling much better. Still tired, but not so exhausted as before. Dean was already in bed. Grace, wrapped in a towel, pulled on a pair of panties and a t-shirt then climbed in next to him. He had looked as if he was already asleep, but as soon as he felt the bed dip he reached out to Grace to pull her to him. He kissed the top of her head and ran a hand up and down her arm as she lay her head on his chest.

"You know," he said, "you saved my life tonight... again."

"That knocker saved both of our lives, Dean."

"Yeah, but I didn't pay attention to the knocking. You did. If you hadn't been with me... I would have kept walking."

Grace almost stopped breathing. He would have been trapped under tons of rock. Maybe even killed instantly. She didn't want to think about it.

"You won't find a better opportunity to say 'I told you so,'" Dean said.

"It's not about being right, Dean. I just wanted you safe. I think you can understand that."

"Yeah, I can."

"I hope every time I have a bad feeling about a case I am completely wrong and everything turns out perfect. I will gladly be wrong."

She thought again what would have happened had he kept walking and her eyes began to moisten. She straddled Dean's hips and laid on top of him, burying her face in his neck.

"Hold me."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly. She lifted her head and they kissed for a moment before she laid back down. She was soon asleep.

Grace was awakened the next morning with a passionate kiss. Her eyes still closed, she began to kiss back. When the kiss ended. She felt a forehead against her own.

"You didn't even open your eyes," Dean said. "You get kissed while you're asleep and you don't even look to make sure it's me?"

Her eyes now open, Grace rubbed her thumb over Dean's bandaged cheek. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed.

"I knew it was you," she said. "No one else can make me feel that way just from a kiss. I don't need to see you. I know the way you smell. I know the way you kiss. I know the way your lips feel against mine." She traced his lips with her thumb. "I love your lips."

Dean's lips parted slightly and his eyes drifted shut. Grace pulled him toward her for another kiss. She continued to pull him with her as she laid back down. When she started to remove his jacket he broke the kiss.

"There's nothing I want more than to make love to you right now," Dean said. His eyes glanced over her sheet-covered form. "Believe me... But Sam and Bobby are waiting for us." He kissed her lightly and stood, walking over to the table. "I went and got us all donuts and coffee, and I picked up our suits from the cleaners. You get dressed. I'll go bring them their donuts, then come back to pack up. We're gonna hit the road soon."

He took two coffees out of the holder and put them on the table for Grace and himself, then grabbed one of the two boxes of donuts and headed out the door.

Grace was dressed when Dean got back to the room. She pulled her hair back into a simple ponytail knowing they would be in the car for a few hours and she would probably dose off.

It didn't take long for them to get packed. When he was done, Dean hugged Grace from behind and whispered in her ear.

"You ready?"

She turned around in his arms. "Are you sure we don't have even fifteen minutes?"

There was a knock at the door, and they heard Sam.

"You guys ready?"

"Be out in a minute," Dean called back.

Dean kissed Grace lightly on the lips, then rested his forehead on hers. "We've gotta go."

With one last kiss to Grace's forehead, Dean released her and grabbed his bags. She did the same and they headed to the car. When she saw Sam and Bobby standing there waiting for them she remembered that they had flown there and the car they were in before had been a rental. Dean had driven Bobby already to turn it in. They would all be piling into the Impala now, including Sam and his cast. He got into the back and stretched his leg across the seat. Dean, of course, was driving. Grace looked at Bobby.

"I guess I'll sit between you and Dean in the front," Grace said.

"No touchy-feely crap with you two."

Grace gave him a look, then slid into the front seat. Dean pulled out of the motel parking lot and they were on their way to Wyoming.


	18. Chapter 18

Dean and Grace did their best to keep their hands to themselves for Bobby's sake. There were times when Dean put his arm around Grace and she laid her head on his shoulder. Bobby seemed okay with that. They held hands for a while. He seemed okay with that too. It was when Grace had her hand on Dean's thigh, and she started rubbing her fingers over his jeans... that's when Bobby cleared his throat.

"Bobby," she said, "what exactly do you think Dean and I are gonna do with you and Sam in the car? While Dean is driving?"

"I don't wanna find out, darlin'."

"Geez, Bobby. I would hope you know me better than that."

"Oh, it's not you I don't trust... it's him," he said, pointing to Dean.

"Hey!" Dean said. "What did I do?"

"Nothin'," Bobby said, "and that's how I wanna keep it."

Dean looked in the rear view mirror at Sam when he heard a chuckle from the backseat.

"What are you grinnin' at?" Dean asked.

"Nothing... Absolutely nothing."

When they reached their destination they went to check into a motel. Separate rooms, as usual. They still had some time to kill before sundown, and they wanted to wait until the middle of the night to go grave digging.

Grace began to unpack the things she would need for the night. She was standing in front of the dresser, which had a mirror, and she saw Dean walk up behind her. He didn't hug her like she was expecting. He just stood there, looking down.

"You okay?" she asked.

He looked at her reflection in the mirror. Grace saw a nervousness on his face. She turned around and saw that he was holding something.

"You know that I'm not really good at this kind of stuff... so, I'm just gonna..."

As he opened his hand, Grace saw that it was a jewelry box he was holding. He slowly opened the box and held it out to her. It was his ring. She looked from the ring to him.

"I told you I'd have it sized down." He took it out of the box and held it out to her. "Take it... read inside."

Grace saw an inscription inside. Her eyes watered as she read it. "Queen of all my dreams." Dean took the ring back, lifted Grace's left hand and put it on her finger.

"A line from my favorite song... for my favorite girl."

Grace didn't know what to say. She started to tell him that she loved him, but the words just didn't seem strong enough. She wasn't sure how that was possible. She grabbed his hand, which was still holding hers, and brought it up to her face. He let his thumb brush over her cheek before she turned her lips into his palm.

When Grace looked into Dean's eyes she saw nothing but love. She put her arms around him. With one hand on the back of his head, she pulled him to her. It didn't matter if the words weren't quite enough... she had to say them.

"I love you."

Dean smiled at her and kissed her, running his hands through her hair. They stood their, wrapped in each other's arms, lost in a passionate kiss. He eventually made his way to her neck and she tilted her head to give him room. Grace thought about the amazing man showing her this love, and the wonderful gift he had just given her, and a tear slipped from her eye. She quickly wiped it away and held him tighter as he made his way back to her lips.

"Dean... make love to me."

He held her face in his hands for a moment, staring into her eyes before scooping her up in his arms and carrying her to the bed. Grace had never felt so loved. Dean didn't have to say the words "I love you." She felt it with every kiss and every touch. Every time he looked at her she knew. She tried to do the same: to show her love for him instead of telling him, but she was so afraid that he wouldn't know just how much she loved him that she felt compelled to say it, over and over as they made love.

Out of breath, Dean still hovering over her kissing her forehead, she said it one more time.

"I love you... so much."

"I love you, too, sweetheart."

Dean rolled onto his side and pulled her close. She kissed him again.

"Can we just stay here forever?"

"It would be okay with me. We'd die of starvation, though, so forever wouldn't be that long."

Grace let out a laugh. "You're so morbid."

"Side effect of the job."

The job. Grace had almost forgotten why they were there in the first place. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. They still had a few hours to kill.

"Can we at least stay here as long as we can before we have to get up?"

Dean squeezed her tighter. "That sounds like a plan." He ran his fingers through her hair before pulling her into another kiss.

Grace eventually dozed off in Dean's arms. He stared at her as she slept. It still amazed him that he had fallen so deeply in love with her... with any woman. But he had. He watched as her chest rose and fell with each breath. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, and he wondered if she was dreaming. He brushed his thumb over her lips and a slight moan escaped as she parted them. A wicked grin formed on his face. He began to wonder how much he could seduce her while she was asleep. How would her body react to his touch if she wasn't awake to know he was touching her? He had already seen her wake up to his kiss, like Sleeping Beauty. Now he got a moan out of her by touching her lips. What else? He decided to find out another time and let her sleep. They would be up late in the cemetery, and she had only been asleep for a few minutes. He would feel bad if he woke her up now. He would keep it in mind, though. Maybe once they got back home.


	19. Chapter 19

Dean's ringing cell phone woke them both up about an hour later. Dean reached over to the night stand and grabbed it, answering without checking to see who it was.

"Yeah?"

"We're going for food. You two want anything?" Sam asked.

Dean moved the phone away and looked at Grace. "You want food?" She nodded and Dean spoke into the phone again. "Yeah... food sounds good."

"Any requests?"

"Surprise us."

Dean disconnected the call and returned his phone to the night stand. He turned back to Grace and put his arm over her. Her head and her left hand were on his chest. He couldn't see her face but he could see that she was using her thumb to play with the ring on her finger. He covered her hand with his and let his thumb glide over the ring.

Her head still on his chest, she asked, "When did you have this done? We were barely apart."

"I dropped it off the morning I woke you up with breakfast. Picked it up when I picked up our suits from the cleaners."

She lifted herself up and rested on her elbow so she could look at him. "You are very sneaky."

"I thought for sure you would realize I wasn't wearing it."

"I did. I thought you put it away somewhere."

"Well, you weren't technically wrong."

She kissed him. When she pulled back she looked at the ring again.

"I still can't believe you gave me this. It's... beyond perfect."

In a voice that was barely above a whisper, he said, "Come here."

As she leaned down, he took her face in his hands and gently pulled her to him. His lips took hers in a passionate kiss, and she slowly slid on top of him. Dean smiled. "They're gonna be back with the food soon, you know."

"I don't care."

She kissed his neck, then slowly made her way down his body. There were no clothes to interfere since they had fallen asleep after making love. Her head disappeared beneath the covers and his hips bucked when he felt her mouth on him. She heard him take in a sharp breath before letting out a deep moan. She kissed back up his body. When she reached his chest he roughly pulled her up to his lips and flipped her onto her back.

He kissed her, trying to fight the urge to take her then. That battle only lasted a few minutes before the urge won. He lifted her legs to wrap around his waist, and captured her lips as their bodies connected. Dean tried to keep a slow pace, but her mouth had already taken him to a frantic state. Just as his pace picked up there was a knock at the door.

"Food, guys!"

Grace felt Dean slow a bit and pulled him closer. "Don't stop." She grazed her teeth over his earlobe, and that was enough to get his attention back.

Afterward, they waited a few minutes before dressing and going over to Sam and Bobby's room. Grace was feeling a little embarrassed. They had to know what was taking her and Dean so long. He told her it didn't matter, and Sam and Bobby wouldn't care what they did in the privacy of their own room, but Grace still felt embarrassed. She would have a hard time looking them in the eye for the next couple of hours. When they walked in Dean headed straight for the food.

"I'm starving."

No odd looks were exchanged, and Grace felt a bit of the embarrassment fade. She began to pull her food from the bag. Sam noticed the ring on her left hand, finding it oddly familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Not until Dean reached for his drink in the middle of the table and Sam saw Dean's ring missing. His eyes darted back to Grace's hand. It certainly looked like Dean's ring. He watched them as they started eating. Dean tried to steal one of her fries, and she swatted his hand away. After swallowing a bite of his food, Dean started talking about the ghost. Sam just couldn't believe they weren't going to mention this. He interrupted.

"I'm sorry... Do you two have something you wanna share?"

Grace stared at Sam, praying he wasn't talking about what took them so long. Dean looked from Sam to Grace, then to Bobby, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Like what?" Dean asked.

Sam stood and walked around to Grace's side. He lifted up her hand, making sure the ring was noticeable.

"Oh... that."

"Yeah, that." Sam sat back down. "Did you get married?"

Dean raised his own left hand. "You see a ring here?"

"No."

"No. I can't get married, dude. I'm a dead man, remember?"

"Well, what's with the ring?"

Dean looked over to Grace who smiled at him. She lifted her eyebrows as if to say, "go ahead." He glanced quickly at Bobby, who had a look of interest on his face, before turning back to Sam.

"Grace and I decided to make a commitment to each other. Legal or not. I thought she should have a ring, so I had mine sized down for her. I surprised her with it after we got here."

Grace noticed he didn't mention the inscription. That was theirs. No one else needed to know about that.

Sam looked between the two of them. "Were you even gonna tell us?"

"Sure, man, but... I don't know, I just didn't think to tell you now."

"Sorry, Sam," Grace said. "We've just kind of been caught up in each other this week. We definitely would have said something after the job was over."

Sam smiled at her. "So, you've really saddled yourself with this pain in the ass?"

"Dude," Dean said, "you love me, and you know it."

Sam shook his head, and Grace put her arm around Dean's shoulder. "I think I'll keep him," she said. She and Dean shared a quick kiss, before Bobby stood.

"Well, now that all the gossip's done, maybe we can get to ready to kill a ghost?"

They finished eating and Sam pulled up a map of the cemetery. They would head out in the next hour or so.


	20. Chapter 20

The cemetery was large. Even with the map it took them a while to find Ryan Lawson's grave. This would be Grace's first time grave digging. It would be her first time seeing a rotted corpse. She was hesitant, to say the least, but she knew it had to be done. Since Sam was on crutches, and Bobby made it a point to remind everyone he was an old man, the bulk of the digging would be left to Dean and Grace. Sam would help Dean get the top soil out of the way, but once that was gone Grace would have to take over. There was no way Sam would be able to get inside the hole. Bobby would step in if needed.

When Sam had done all he could do he handed Grace the shovel. "You ever use a shovel before?"

"Once... but not for anything like this."

He quickly gave a few pointers on how to get the best leverage and ways to make it as easy as possible.

"You will definitely get blisters," he said. "With the amount of digging you're about to do... first time... don't be surprised if you're bleeding by the end of the night."

Grace's face fell. "Thanks for the pep talk. I'm all ready to have some fun digging!" she said with mock joy. She stepped into the slowly developing hole. Dean was beginning to sweat. Grace held no hope for herself. She wondered how long she would last as she thrust the shovel into the ground.

"One down, hundreds to go."

She heard Dean chuckle and it made her smile.

Time passed as they shoveled the dirt from the ground. It felt like hours to Grace. Her entire body was aching. She just wasn't used to this kind of physical labor. She was about to give up when she heard a loud thunk. She looked over at Dean, where the noise had come from.

"This is it," he said. "Just a little more and we'll have him."

They were digging again when Sam called out to them.

"Guys... Heads up!"

Dean and Grace both looked up and saw the ghost of the miner, Ryan Lawson. The ground around them began to shake.

"Sammy! Shotgun!"

Bobby tossed Sam the shotgun loaded with rock salt and he fired. Lawson disappeared, and the walls of the grave stopped shaking. Dean turned to Grace and grabbed her arm.

"You... out."

Grace knew better than to argue. Dean boosted her out then lifted his shovel to crack open the lid of the coffin. He made contact twice before the ghost reappeared, throwing him against the wall of dirt. His head hit the edge of the coffin when he came crashing down. He didn't get back up.

"Dean!" Grace and Sam yelled at the same time. Sam leveled the shotgun and fired again as the dirt walls of the grave tumbled down on top of Dean. Grace and Bobby both ran to dig Dean out. Sam continued firing at the ghost whenever it appeared.

Grace dug with her hands where Dean's head should be. Thankfully, it wasn't a lot of dirt that fell. If Dean were conscious he might even be able to dig himself out... but he wasn't conscious. Grace had seen him hit his head. She was worried.

She got Dean's face out of the dirt and began to dig out his torso... she had to make sure he could breathe. Shot after shot rang out as Sam kept Lawson at bay. Someone would come running soon to check it out.

"Bobby," Grace said, "keep digging him out!" She found a spot where she could pull herself out and went for the duffel with the salt and lighter fluid. Back in the grave, she finished breaking into the coffin. She poured the salt and lighter fluid all over the corpse inside. Lighter. She needed a lighter. She turned back to Bobby, who had Dean mostly uncovered now.

"Help me get him out," Grace said.

After helping Bobby pick Dean up, Grace climbed back out of the grave. She pulled Dean as Bobby pushed him up until they had him out of the hole. Bobby climbed out right after.

Grace went through Dean's pocket. She pulled out his lighter, flipped it open, and watched the flame spring to life. She picked up the map of the cemetery and set it on fire, then threw it inside the coffin. They all watched as Lawson's ghost made one final attempt to attack before he burst into flames and was gone for good.

Grace ran back to Dean's side and laid her head on his chest. He was breathing, but it was shallow.

"We have to get him to a hospital."

Grace and Bobby did their best to get Dean into the car, though it wasn't graceful. Grace climbed into the back seat with Dean, putting his head in her lap. She slowly combed her fingers through his hair until she found the gash where he made contact with the coffin. It didn't look too bad, but with a head injury it was what you couldn't see that you had to worry about. Grace lightly patted his cheek.

"Dean... You have to wake up, baby."

Nothing.

When they got to the hospital, Grace didn't bother trying to get Dean out on her own. She ran inside and asked for help. And man with a gurney came running out behind her. She helped get Dean out of the car and the three of them followed the gurney inside.

Three hours later, Grace watched as Dean's eyes fluttered open. She was sitting in a chair next to Dean's bed, holding his hand.

"What happened?"

Grace filled him in on everything that happened after she climbed out of the grave. "Doctor says you'll be fine. He wants to keep you one night just to make sure your head is okay, but he doesn't see any problems."

"What did you tell them happened?"

"I told them we're putting in a pool and you were showing the guys the progress when you slipped and fell in. You hit your head and some dirt fell on you after you tumbled down. We dug you out and got you here... not too far from the truth."

"Your version makes me sound like a klutz."

Grace shrugged her shoulders. "I could have told them you were drunk when you fell in."

"I think I would have preferred that."

Dean reached up and rubbed his forehead. "My head is killing me."

"It took a few stitches... and they only gave you enough pain killers to keep you comfortable. They wanted you to wake up."

Grace reached for the button to call the nurse, but Dean grabbed her wrist. She looked at him, waiting for him to say something, but he just stared at her. He let go when she smiled at him, and she called for the nurse.

After Dean was given more pain medication he was ready to sleep for the night. Drifting in and out of consciousness he asked Grace to lay next to him. She gently climbed into the bed and wrapped her arms around Dean, holding his head against her chest.

Dean was discharged the next morning, but in no condition to drive. Bobby took the wheel and made it home before nightfall. He helped Grace bandage her blistered hands before heading for the shower. Sam was on the sofa, poking at his cast. Dean sat next to him with an ice pack on his head.

Grace let out a laugh, and they both looked up at her. "It's funny how the old man is the only one who's not banged up." Sam shook his head, and Dean smiled.

Grace sat down on the chair in front of Bobby's desk. "I guess we get some time off now, huh?"

"Yes," Sam and Dean said at the same time.

A week later, Dean was all better. The few stitches he had were out. Sam had a few days left in his cast so they were still laying low at Bobby's. Grace was glad to have some peace for a while. Bobby had her and Sam helping with research again. Dean, as usual, declined.

Grace decided to take a break from reading and went outside to find Dean. He was under the hood of the Impala. She stayed back a little, leaning against the house, and watched him work. He was so focused that several minutes passed without him noticing that she was there. When he finally looked up, he smiled at her.

"Hey."

"Hey. How's she doin'?" Grace asked, nodding to the car.

"Just giving her a tune up," he said, wiping the grease from his hands. "How about you?"

"Just taking a break."

She walked over to the car and leaned against the door. Dean stood in front of her, putting his hands on the roof and leaning in.

"We talking a 'get a little fresh air' kind of break, or a 'climb into the back seat' kind of break?" He smiled at her in that perverted way, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Somewhere in the middle."

Dean shrugged his shoulders. "I can go for that."

He leaned over and kissed her, his hands still on the car. When she wrapped her arms around his neck, his hands moved to her hips. After a couple of minutes, Grace pulled away.

"I guess I'd better get back."

Dean watched her walk back into the house, then put his attention back on the car. When he was done he went inside and showered, grabbed a beer, and turned on the tv.

It was around midnight when Bobby went to bed. Sam followed soon after. Bobby had cleared out part of an extra room he was using for storage, leaving just enough room for a cot for Sam. It was better than the sofa, considering his cast, and it was quieter. Especially when Dean decided he wanted to watch a movie, like tonight.

Dean and Grace were left on the couch, watching a Clint Eastwood movie. Grace had fallen asleep with just half an hour left. When the movie was over Dean turned the tv off, lifted Grace into his arms, and carried her to bed. When he laid her down she sighed a little and turned over. Dean climbed in and pulled her close, brushing her hair away from her face.

A slight smile on her face reminded him of his thoughts from the motel room. Could he seduce her in her sleep? First he had to make sure she really was asleep.

"Grace," he whispered. When she didn't move, he whispered her name once more. She was asleep. He ran the back of his fingers down her neck, until they reached her shirt collar. He slowly slid his hand down her side. When he reached the bottom of her shirt he slipped his hand beneath it. He ran his hand over her breasts, on top of her bra. His fingers slipped in and pulled the cups down to give him access. He gently caressed them and she sighed. Her lips parted and she turned her head slightly toward Dean. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he kept going. He let his hand slide back down her body, beneath the waist band of her pants. His hand slid lightly over her panties, and her leg twitched. He moved his fingers and a sound escaped her lips: Half sigh, half moan. Her leg moved again, and he watched as her lips parted more. She quietly called his name as he moved his fingers over her, and that was more than he could take. She really did know his touch... or she was dreaming about him while he was touching her. Either way, it made him want her. Fully awake.

He removed his hand and brought it back to her hip as he leaned in to kiss her. She was soon retuning the kiss, and as she began to wake up she noticed the awkwardness of her bra. She shifted before pulling away from his lips, trying to adjust herself.

"Were you feeling me up while I was sleeping?"

"Sweetheart, I was doing more than that... and you loved it." He leaned down and whispered against her lips, "Even called out my name."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm."

"What exactly were you doing?"

"Want me to show you?"

"I think you should."

His hand slid back into her pants and he began his movement again, only not as lightly as before. His mouth was just barely touching hers, their lips slightly parted. She gently grazed her teeth over his bottom lip before he kissed her again. When he felt her hips moving against his hand, he smiled, but his hand stopped moving.

"You're trying to get there without me," he said. "That's not fair."

When Dean began removing his clothes, Grace started on hers. Once Dean was free Grace's hands were on him, her fingers gently caressing the part she wanted most at that moment. He was hovering over her, and he thrust slightly into her hand, making her bite her bottom lip. He thrust once more before whispering in her ear.

"I think you should move your hand so I can put that somewhere else."

She eagerly moved her hands to his face, pulling his lips to hers as he began to make love to her. Dean had been right... he could seduce her in her sleep. But it turned out, she could seduce _him_ in her sleep. Dean found that incredibly sexy.

**A/N: That's it, guys! The end. Let me know what you think. Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. I'm working on another story, though not with Grace. Not sure when I'll get it started, so be sure to follow me as an author.**


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